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THE HOME ACRE 



THE HOME ACRE 



BY 



< 



A 



EDWARD Pf ROE 

1) 

Author of "Barriers Burned Away," "Success with Small 

Fruits," "Nature's Serial Story," "He Fell in 

Love with His Wife," "Miss Lou," etc. 



1' 




NEW YORK 

DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY 

1889 






Copyright, 18S6 and 18S7 
By Harper and Brothers 

Copyright, 1889 
By Dodd, Mead, and Company 



All rights reserved 



JHntbersita 5Ptegg 
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter Page 

I. Tree-Planting 7 

II. Fruit-Trees and Grass 35 

III. The Garden 59 

IV. The Vineyard and Orchard 87 

V. The Raspberry 115 

VI. The Currant • • • i39 

VII. Strawberries 165 

VIII. The Kitchen-Garden 195 

IX. The Kitchen-Garden {Concluded) . . . 219 



THE HOME ACRE. 



CHAPTER I. 

TREE-PLANTING. 

LAND hunger is so general that it may be 
regarded as a natural craving. Artificial 
modes of life, it is true, can destroy it, but it is 
apt to reassert itself in later generations. To tens 
of thousands of bread-winners in cities a country 
home is the dream of the future, the crown and 
reward of their life-toil. Increasing numbers are 
taking what would seem to be the wiser course, 
and are combining rural pleasures and advantages 
with their business. As the questions of rapid 
transit are solved, the welfare of children will turn 
the scale more and more often against the con- 
ventional city house or flat. A home can be 
created in rented dwellings and apartments; but 
a home for which we have the deed, a cottage 
surrounded by trees, flowers, lawn, and garden, 
is the refuge which best satisfies the heart. By 
means of such a suburban nook we can keep up 



8 THE HOME ACRE. 

our relations with Nature and all her varied and 
health-giving life. The tired man returning from 
business finds that his excited brain will not cease 
to act. He can enjoy restoring rest in the com- 
plete diversion of his thoughts ; he can think of 
this tree or that plant, and how he can fill to 
advantage unoccupied spaces with other trees, 
flowers, and vegetables. If there is a Jersey cow 
to welcome him with her placid trust, a good 
roadster to whinny for an airing, and a flock of 
chickens to clamor about his feet for their supper, 
his jangling nerves will be quieted, in spite of all 
the bulls and bears of Wall Street. Best of all, he 
will see that his children have air and space in 
which to grow naturally, healthfully. His fruit- 
trees will testify to his wisdom in providing a 
country home. For instance, he will observe that 
if sound plums are left in contact with stung and 
decaying specimens, they too will be infected ; he 
will see that too close crowding renders the pros- 
pect for good fruit doubtful ; and, by natural tran- 
sition of thought, will be glad that his boys and 
girls are not shut in to the fortuitous associations 
of hall-way and street. 

The area of land purchased will depend largely 
on the desires and purse of the buyer ; but about 
one acre appears to satisfy the majority of people. 
This amount is not so great that the business man 



TREE-PLANTING. 9 

is burdened with care, nor is its limit so small that 
he is cramped and thwarted by line fences. If 
he can give to his bit of Eden but little thought 
and money, he will find that an acre can be so 
laid out as to entail comparatively small expense 
in either the one or the other; if he has the time 
and taste to make the land his play-ground as well 
as that of his children, scope is afforded for an 
almost infinite variety of pleasing labors and in- 
teresting experiments. When we come to co- 
work with Nature, all we do has some of the 
characteristics of an experiment. The labor of 
the year is a game of skill, into which also enter 
the fascinating elements of apparent chance. What 
a tree, a flower, or vegetable bed will give, depends 
chiefly upon us ; yet all the vicissitudes of dew, 
rain, frost, and sun, have their part in the result. 
We play the game with Nature, and she will usually 
let us win if we are not careless, ignorant, or stupid. 
She keeps up our zest by never permitting the 
game to be played twice under the same condi- 
tions. We can no more carry on our garden this 
season precisely as we did last year than a captain 
can sail his ship exactly as he did on the preceding 
voyage. A country home makes even the weather 
interesting; and the rise and fall of the mercury 
is watched with scarcely less solicitude than the 
mutations of the market. 



10 THE HOME ACRE. 

In this chapter and in those which may ensue I 
merely hope to make some useful suggestions and 
give practical advice, — the result of experience, 
my own and others', — which the reader may carry 
out and modify according to his judgment. 

We will suppose that an acre has been bought; 
that it is comparatively level, with nothing of 
especial value upon it, — in brief, that the home 
and its surroundings are still to be created. 

It is not within my design to treat of the dwell- 
ing, its architecture, etc., but we shall have some- 
thing to say farther on in regard to its location. 
Before purchasing, the most careful investigations 
should be made as to the healthfulness of the 
region and the opportunities for thorough drain- 
age. Having bought the acre, the question of 
removing all undue accumulations of water on or 
beneath the surface should be attended to at first. 
The dry appearance of the soil during much of 
the year may be misleading. It should be re- 
membered that there are equinoctial storms and 
melting snows. Superabundant moisture at every 
period should have channels of immediate escape, 
for moisture in excess is an injury to plant as well 
as to family life; while thoroughly and quickly 
drained land endures drought far better than that 
which is rendered heavy and sour by water stag- 
nating beneath the surface. Tile-drains are usually 



TREE-PLANTING. 1 1 

the cheapest and most effective ; but if there are 
stones and rocks upon the place, they can be 
utilized and disposed of at the same time by their 
burial in ditches, — and they should be covered so 
deeply that a plough, although sunk to the beam, 
can pass over them. Tiles or the top of a stone 
drain should be at least two feet below the sur- 
face. If the ground of the acre is underlaid with 
a porous subsoil, there is usually an adequate 
natural drainage. 

Making haste slowly is often the quickest way 
to desired results. It is the usual method to erect 
the dwelling first, and afterwards to subdue and 
enrich the ground gradually. This in many in- 
stances may prove the best course; but when it 
is practicable, I should advise that building be 
deferred until the land (with the exception of the 
spaces to be occupied with the house and barn) 
can be covered with a heavy dressing of barn-yard 
manure, and that this be ploughed under in the 
autumn. Such general enriching of the soil may 
seem a waste in view of the carriage-drive and 
walks yet to be laid out; but this will not prove 
true. It should be remembered that while certain 
parts of the place are to be kept bare of surface- 
vegetation, they nevertheless will form a portion 
of the root-pasturage of the shade and fruit trees. 
The land, also, can be more evenly and deeply 



12 THE HOME ACRE. 

ploughed before obstructions are placed upon it, 
and roots, pestiferous weeds, and stones removed 
with greatest economy. Moreover, the good ini- 
tial enriching is capital, hoarded in the soil, to 
start with. On many new places I have seen 
trees and plants beginning a feeble and uncer- 
tain life, barely existing rather than growing, 
because their roots found the soil like a table 
with dishes but without food. If the fertilizer is 
ploughed under in the autumn, again mixed with 
the soil by a second ploughing in the spring, it 
will be decomposed and ready for immediate use 
by every rootlet in contact with it Now, as far- 
mers say, the ** land is in good heart," and it will 
cheer its owner's heart to see the growth promptly 
made by whatever is properly planted. Instead 
of losing time, he has gained years. Suppose 
the acre to have been bought in September, and 
treated as I have indicated, it is ready for a gen- 
erous reception of plants and trees the following 
spring. 

Possibly at the time of purchase the acre may 
be covered with coarse grass, weeds, or under- 
growth of some kind. In this case, after the ini- 
tial ploughing, the cultivation for a season of some 
such crop as corn or potatoes may be of great 
advantage in clearing the land, and the proceeds 
of the crop would partially meet expenses. If the 



TREE-PLANTING. 1 3 

aim is merely to subdue and clean the land as 
quickly as possible, nothing is better than buck- 
wheat, sown thickly and ploughed under just as it 
comes into blossom. It is the nature of this ram- 
pant-growing grain to kill out everything else and 
leave the soil light and mellow. If the ground is 
encumbered with many stones and rocks, the ques- 
tion of clearing it is more complicated. They can 
be used, and often sold to advantage, for building 
purposes. In some instances I have seen laboring- 
men clear the most unpromising plots of ground 
by burying all rocks and stones deeply beneath the 
surface, — men, too, who had no other time for the 
task except the brief hours before and after their 
daily toil. 

I shall give no distinct plan for laying out the 
ground. The taste of the owner, or more proba- 
bly that of his wife, will now come into play. 
Their ideas also will be modified by many local 
circumstances, — as, for instance, the undulations of 
the land, if there are any ; proximity to neighbors, 
etc. If little besides shade and lawn is desired, 
this fact will have a controUing influence ; if, on the 
other hand, the proprietor wishes to make his acre 
as productive as possible, the house will be built 
nearer the street, wider open space will be left for 
the garden, and fruit-trees will predominate over 
those grown merely for shade and beauty. There 



14 THE HOME ACRE. 

are few who would care to follow a plan which 
many others had adopted. Indeed, it would be 
the natural wish of persons of taste to impart 
something of their own individuality to their rural 
home ; and the effort to do this would afford much 
agreeable occupation. Plates giving the elevation 
and arrangement of country homes can be studied 
by the evening lamp ; visits to places noted for 
their beauty, simplicity, and good taste will afford 
motives for many a breezy drive ; while useful sug- 
gestions from what had been accomplished by 
others may repay for an extended journey. Such 
observations and study will cost little more than 
an agreeable expenditure of time; and surely a 
home is worth careful thought. It then truly 
becomes yottr home, — something that you have 
evolved with loving effort. Dear thoughts of wife 
and children enter into its very materiality ; walks 
are planned with a loving consciousness of the 
feet which are to tread them, and trees planted 
with prophetic vision of the groups that will gather 
beneath the shade. This could scarcely be true 
if the acre was turned over to architect, builders, 
and landscape-gardeners, with an agreement that 
you should have possession at a specified time. 

We will suppose that it is early spring, that the 
ground has received its second ploughing, and 
that the carriage-drive and the main walks have 



TREE-PLANTING. 1 5 

been marked out on paper, or, better still, on a 
carefully considered map. There is now so much 
to do that one is almost bewildered ; and the old 
saying, " Rome was not built in a day," is a good 
thing to remember. An orderly succession of 
labor will bring beauty and comfort in good time, 
especially if essential or foundation labors are first 
well performed. Few things will prove more sat- 
isfactory than dry, hard, smooth carriage-roads 
and walks. These, with their curves, can be care- 
fully staked out, the surface-earth between the 
stakes to the depth of four or five inches carted 
to the rear of the place near the stable, or the 
place where the stable is to be. ^ T the value of 
this surface-soil we shall speak presently, and will 
merely remark in passing that it is amply worth the 
trouble of saving. Its removal leaves the beds of 
the drive-way and walks depressed several inches 
below the surrounding surface. Fill these shallow 
excavations with little stones, the larger in the 
bottom, the smaller on top, and cover all with 
gravel. You now have roads and walks that will 
be dry and hard even in oozy March, and you can 
stroll about your place the moment the heaviest 
shower is over. The greater first cost will be more 
than made good by the fact that scarcely a weed 
can start or grow on pathways thus treated. All 
they will need is an occasional rounding up and 
smoothing with a rake. 



l6 THE HOME ACRE. 

While this labor is going on you can begin the 
planting of trees. To this task I would earnestly 
ask careful attention. Your house can be built 
in a summer; but it requires a good part of a cen- 
tury to build the best trees into anything like 
perfection. 

The usual tendency is to plant much too closely. 
Observe well-developed trees, and see how wide a 
space they require. There is naturally an eager 
wish for shade as soon as possible, and a desire to 
banish from surroundings an aspect of bareness. 
These purposes can, it is true, often be accom- 
plished by setting out more trees at first than 
could mature, and by taking out one and another 
from time to time when they begin to interfere 
with each other's growth. One symmetrical, noble 
tree, however, is certainly worth more than a dozen 
distorted, misshapen specimens. If given space, 
every kind of tree and shrub will develop its own 
individuality; and herein lies one of their greatest 
charms. If the oak typifies manhood, the droop- 
ing elm is equally suggestive of feminine grace, 
while the sugar-maple, prodigal of its rich juices, 
tasselled bloom, and winged seeds, reminds us of 
wholesome, cheerful natures. Even when dying, 
its foliage takes on the earliest and richest hues 
of autumn. 

The trees about our door become in a sense our 



TREE-PLANTING. 1 7 

companions. They appeal to the eye, fancy, and 
feehngs of different people differently. Therefore 
I shall leave the choice of arboreal associates to 
to those who are to plant them, — a choice best 
guided by observation of trees. Why should you 
not plant those you like the best, those which are 
the most congenial? \ 

A few suggestions, however, may be useful. I 
would advise the reader not to be in too great 
haste to fill up his grounds. While there are trees 
to which his choice reverts almost instantly, there 
are probably many other beautiful varieties with 
which he is not acquainted. If he has kept space 
for the planting of something new every spring and 
fall, he has done much to preserve his zest in his 
rural surroundings, and to give a pleasing direction 
to his summer observation. He is ever on the 
alert to discover trees and shrubs that satisfy his 
taste. 

During the preparation of this book I visited the 
grounds of Mr. A. S. Fuller, at Ridgewood, N. J., 
and for an hour or two I broke the tenth com- 
mandment in spite of myself. I was surrounded 
by trees from almost every portion of the north- 
ern temperate zone, from Oregon to Japan ; and 
in Mr. Fuller I had a guide whose sympathy 
with his arboreal pets was only equalled by his 
knowledge of their characteristics. All who love 



1 8 THE HOME ACRE. 

trees should possess his book entitled *' Practical 
Forestry." If it could only be put into the hands 
of law-makers, and they compelled to learn much 
of its contents by heart, they would cease to be 
more or less conscious traitors to their country in 
allowing the destruction of forests. They might 
avert the verdict of the future, and prevent poster- 
ity from denouncing the irreparable wrong which 
is now permitted with impunity. The Arnolds of 
to-day are those who have the power to save the 
trees, yet fail to do so. 

Japan appears to be doing as much to adorn 
our lawns and gardens as our drawing-rooms ; and 
from this and other foreign lands much that is 
beautiful or curious is coming annually to our 
shores. At the same time I was convinced of the 
wisdom of Mr. Fuller's appreciation of our native 
trees. In few instances should we have to go far 
from home to find nearly all that we wanted in 
beautiful variety, — maples, dogwoods, scarlet and 
chestnut oaks, the liquid-amber, the whitewood or 
tulip tree, white birch, and hornbeam, or the hop- 
tree ; not to speak of the evergreens and shrubs 
indigenous to our forests. Perhaps it is not gener- 
ally known that the persimmon, so well remem- 
bered by old campaigners in Virginia, will grow 
readily in this latitude. There are forests of this 
tree around Paterson, N. J., and it has been 



TREE-PLANTING. 1 9 

known to endure twenty-seven degrees below zero. 
It is a handsome tree at any season, and its fruit in 
November caused much stragghng from our hne 
of march in the South. Then there is our clean- 
boled, graceful beech, whose smooth white bark 
has received so many tender confidences. In the 
neighborhood of a village you will rarely find one 
of these trees whereon is not linked the names of 
lovers that have sat beneath the shade. Indeed I 
have found mementos of trysts or rambles deep 
in the forest of which the faithful beech has kept 
the record until the lovers were old or dead. On 
an immense old beech in Tennessee there is an 
inscription which, while it suggests a hug, pre- 
sents to the fancy an experience remote from a 
lover's embrace. It reads, *' D. Boone cilled bar 
on tree." 

There is one objection to the beech which also 
lies against the white oak, — it does not drop its 
leaves within the space of a few autumn days. 
The bleached foliage is falHng all winter long, 
thus giving the ground near an untidy aspect. 
With some, the question of absolute neatness is 
paramount; with others, leaves are clean dirt, and 
their rustle in the wind does not cease to be music 
even after they have fallen. 

Speaking of native trees and shrubs, we shall do 
well to use our eyes carefully during our summer 



20 THE HOME ACRE. 

walks and drives ; for if we do, we can scarcely fail 
to fall in love with types and varieties growing 
wild. They will thrive just as well on the acre if 
properly removed. In a sense they bring the 
forest with them, and open vistas at our door deep 
into the heart of Nature. The tree is not only a 
thing of beauty in itself, but it represents to the 
fancy all its wild haunts the world over. 

In gratifying our taste for native trees we need 
not confine ourselves to those indigenous to our 
own locality. From the nurseries we can obtain 
specimens that beautify other regions of our 
broad land ; as, for instance, the Kentucky yellow- 
wood, the papaw, the Judas-tree, and, in the lati- 
tude of New Jersey and southward, the holly. 

In many instances the purchaser of the acre 
may find a lasting pleasure in developing a spe- 
cialty. He may desire to gather about him all the 
drooping or weeping trees that will grow in his 
latitude, or he may choose to turn his acre largely 
into a nut-orchard, and delight his children with 
a harvest which they will gather with all the zest 
of the frisky red squirrel. If one could succeed 
in obtaining a bearing tree of Hale's paper-shell 
hickory-nut, he would have a prize indeed. In- 
creasing attention is given to the growing of nut- 
trees in our large nurseries, and there would be no 
difficulty in obtaining a supply. 



TREE-PLANTING. 21 

In passing from this subject of choice in decidu- 
ous trees and shrubs, I would suggest, in addition 
to visits to woods and copse, to the well-orna- 
mented places of men who have long gratified a 
fine taste in this respect, that the reader also make 
time to see occasionally a nursery like that of 
S. B. Parsons & Co., at Flushing, N. Y. There is 
no teaching like that of the eyes ; and the amateur 
who would do a bit of landscape-gardening about 
his own home learns what he would like and what 
he can do by seeing shrubs and trees in their 
various stages of growth and beauty. 

I shall treat the subject of evergeeens at the 
close of this chapter. 

As a rule, I have not much sympathy with the 
effort to set out large trees in the hope of ob- 
taining shade more quickly. The trees have to 
be trimmed up and cut back so greatly that their 
symmetry is often destroyed. They are also apt 
to be checked in their growth so seriously by such 
removal that a slender sapling, planted at the same 
time, overtakes and passes them. I prefer a young 
tree, straight-stemmed, healthy, and typical of its 
species or variety. Then we may watch its rapid 
natural development as we would that of a child. 
Still, when large trees can be removed in winter 
with a great ball of frozen earth that insures the 
preservation of the fibrous roots, much time can 



22 THE HOME ACRE. 

be saved. It should ever be remembered that 
prompt, rapid growth of the transplanted tree 
depends on two things, — plenty of small fibrous 
roots, and a fertile soil to receive them. It usually 
happens that the purchaser employs a local citi- 
zen to aid in putting his ground in order. In 
every rural neighborhood there are smart men, — 
"smart" is the proper adjective; for they are 
neither sagacious nor trustworthy, and there is 
ever a dismal hiatus between their promises and 
performance. Such men lie in wait for new- 
comers, to take advantage of their inexperience 
and necessary absence. They will assure their 
confiding employers that they are beyond learning 
anything new in the planting of trees, — which is 
true, in a sinister sense. They will leave roots 
exposed to sun and wind, — in brief, pay no more 
attention to them than a baby-farmer would bestow 
on an infant's appetite ; and then, when convenient, 
thrust them into a hole scarcely large enough for 
a post. They expect to receive their money long 
before the dishonest character of their work can 
be discovered. The number of trees which this 
class of men have dwarfed or killed outright would 
make a forest. The result of a well-meaning yet 
ignorant man's work might be equally unsatis- 
factory. Therefore the purchaser of the acre 
should know how a tree should be planted, and 



TREE- PLANTING. 23 

see to it himself; or he should by careful inquiry- 
select a man for the task who could bring testi- 
monials from those to whom he had rendered like 
services in the past. 

The hole destined to receive a shade or fruit 
tree should be at least three feet in diameter and 
two feet deep. It then should be partially filled 
with good surface soil, upon which the tree should 
stand, so that its roots could extend naturally ac- 
cording to their original growth. Good fine loam 
should be sifted through and over them, and they 
should not be permitted to come in contact with 
decaying matter or coarse, unfermented manure. 
The tree should be set as deeply in the soil as it 
stood when first taken up.^ As the earth is thrown 
gently through and over the roots it should be 
packed lightly against them with the foot, and 
water, should the season be rather dry and warm, 
poured in from time to time to settle the fine soil 
about them. The surface should be levelled at 
last with a slight dip towards the tree, so that spring 
and summer rains may be retained directly about 
the roots. Then a mulch of coarse manure is 
helpful, for it keeps the surface moist, and its rich- 
ness will reach the roots gradually in a diluted 
form. A mulch of straw, leaves, or coarse hay is 
better than none at all. After being planted, three 
stout stakes should be inserted firmly in the earth 



24 THE HOME ACRE. 

at the three points of a triangle, the tree being its 
centre. Then by a rope of straw or some soft 
material the tree should be braced firmly between 
the protecting stakes, and thus it is kept from 
being whipped around by the wind. Should pe- 
riods of drought ensue during the growing season, 
it would be well to rake the mulch one side, and 
saturate the ground around the young tree with an 
abundance of water, and the mulch afterwards 
spread as before. Such watering is often essential, 
and it should be thorough. Unskilled persons 
usually do more harm than good by their half- 
way measures in this respect. 

Speaking of trees, it may so happen that the 
acre is already in forest. Then, indeed, there 
should be careful discrimination in the use of the 
axe. It may be said that a fine tree is in the way 
of the dwelling. Perhaps the proposed dwelling 
is in the way of the tree. In England the work 
of '' groving," or thinning out trees, is carried to 
the perfection of a fine art. One shudders at the 
havoc which might be made by a stolid laborer. 
Indeed, to nearly all who could be employed in 
preparing a wooded acre for habitation, a tree 
would be looked upon as little more than so much 
cord-wood or lumber. 

If I had a wooded acre I should study the trees 
most carefully before coming to any decision as 



TREE-PLANTING. 25 

to the situation of the dwelling and out-buildings. 
Having removed those obviously unworthy to re- 
main, I should put in the axe very thoughtfully 
among the finer specimens, remembering that I 
should be under the soil before Nature could build 
others like them. 

In the fitting up of this planet as the home of 
mankind it would appear that the Creator regarded 
the coniferae, or evergreen family, as well worthy of 
attention ; for almost from the first, according to 
geologists, this family records on the rocky tablets 
of the earth its appearance, large and varied de- 
velopment, and its adaptation to each change in 
climate and condition of the globe's surface during 
the countless ages of preparation. Surely, there- 
fore, he who is evolving a home on one acre of the 
earth's area cannot neglect a genus of trees that 
has been so signally honored. Evergreens will 
speedily banish the sense of newness from his 
grounds; for by putting them about his door he 
has added the link which connects his acre with 
the earliest geological record of tree-planting. 
Then, like Diedrich Knickerbocker, who felt that 
he must trace the province of New York back to 
the origin of the universe, he can look upon his 
coniferae and feel that his latest work is in accord 
with one of the earliest laws of creation. I im- 
agine, however, that my readers' choice of ever- 



26 THE HOME ACRE. 

greens will be determined chiefly by the fact that 
they are always beautiful, are easily managed, and 
that by means of them beautiful effects can be 
created within comparatively small space. On 
Mr. Fuller's grounds I saw what might be fittingly 
termed a small parterre of dwarf evergreens, some 
of which were twenty-five years old. 

Numbers of this family might be described as 
evergreen and gold ; for part of the perennial 
foliage shades off from the deepest green to bright 
golden hues. Among the group of this variety, 
Japanese in origin, Mr. Fuller showed me a 
** sporting " specimen, which, from some obscure 
and remarkable impulse, appeared bent on pro- 
ducing a new and distinct type. One of the 
branches was quite different from all the others 
on the tree. It was pressed down and layered in 
the soil beneath ; when lo ! a new tree was pro- 
duced, set out beside its parent, whom it soon 
surpassed in size, beauty, and general vigor. Al- 
though still maintaining its green and golden hues, 
it was so distinct that no one would dream that it 
was but a '* sport " from the adjacent dwarf and 
modest tree. Indeed, it reminded one of Beatrix 
Esmond beside her gentle and retiring mother. 
If it should not in the future emulate in caprice 
the fair subject of comparison, it may eventually 
become one of the best-known ornaments of our 



TREE-PLANTING. 2/ 

lawns. At present it appears nowise inclined to 
hide its golden light under a bushel. 

What I have said about forming the acquaint- 
ance of deciduous trees and shrubs before planting 
to any great extent, applies with even greater force 
to the evergreen family. There is a large and 
beautiful variety from which to choose, and I 
would suggest that the choice be made chiefly 
from the dwarf-growing kinds, since the space of 
one acre is too limited for much indulgence in 
Norway spruces, the firs, or pines. An hour with 
a note-book spent in grounds like those of Mr. 
Fuller would do more in aiding a satisfactory se- 
lection than years of reading. Moreover, it should 
be remembered that many beautiful evergreens, 
especially those of foreign origin, are but half 
hardy. The amateur may find that after an ex- 
ceptionally severe winter some lovely specimen, 
which has grown to fill a large space in his heart, 
as well as on his acre, has been killed. There is 
an ample choice from entirely hardy varieties for 
every locality, and these, by careful inquiry of 
trustworthy nurserymen, should be obtained. 

Moreover, it should be remembered that few 
evergreens will thrive in a wet, heavy soil. If 
Nature has not provided thorough drainage by 
means of a porous subsoil, the work must be done 
artificially. As a rule, Hght but not poor soils, 



28 THE HOME ACRE. 

and warm exposures, are best adapted to this genus 
of trees. 

I think that all authorities agree substantially 
that spring in our climate is the best time for the 
transplanting of evergreens ; but they differ between 
early and advanced spring. The late Mr. A. J. 
Downing preferred early spring ; that is, as soon 
as the frost is out, and the ground dry enough to 
crumble freely. Mr. A. S. Fuller indorses this 
opinion. Mr. Josiah Hoopes, author of a valuable 
work entitled " The Book of Evergreens," advises 
that transplanting be deferred to later spring, when 
the young trees are just beginning their season's 
growth ; and this view has the approval of the 
Hon. Marshall P. Wilder and Mr. S. B. Parsons, Jr., 
Superintendent of City Parks. Abundant success is 
undoubtedly achieved at both seasons ; but should 
a hot, dry period ensue after the later planting, — 
early May, for instance, — only abundant watering 
and diligent mulching will save the trees. 

It should be carefully remembered that the ever- 
green families do not possess the vitality of decidu- 
ous trees, and are more easily injured or killed by 
removal. The roots of the former are more sen- 
sitive to exposure to dry air and to sunlight ; and 
much more certainty of life and growth is secured 
if the transfer can be accomplished in cloudy or 
rainy weather. The roots should never be per- 



TREE-PLANTING. 29 

mitted to become dry, and it is well also to sprinkle 
the foliage at the time of planting. Moreover, do 
not permit careless workmen to save a few minutes 
in the digging of the trees. Every fibrous root 
that can be preserved intact is a promise of life 
and vigor. If a nurseryman should send me an 
assortment of evergreens with only the large woody 
roots left, I should refuse to receive the trees. 

What I have said in opposition to the trans- 
planting of large trees applies with greater force 
to evergreens. Mr. Hoopes writes : '' An error 
into which many unpractised planters frequently fall 
is that of planting large trees ; and it is one which 
we consider opposed to sound common-sense. 
We are aware that the owner of every new place 
is anxious to produce what is usually known as 
an immediate effect, and therefore he proceeds to 
plant large evergreens, covering his grounds with 
great unsightly trees. In almost every case of 
this kind the lower limbs are apt to die, and 
thus greatly disfigure the symmetry of the trees. 
Young, healthy plants, when carefully taken up 
and as properly replanted, are never subject to 
this disfigurement, and are almost certain to form 
handsome specimens." 

Any one who has seen the beautiful pyramids, 
cones, and mounds of green into which so many 
varieties develop, if permitted to grow according 



30 THE HOME ACRE. 

to the laws of their being, should not be induced 
to purchase old and large trees which nurserymen 
are often anxious to part with before they become 
utterly unsalable. 

When the evergreens reach the acre, plant them 
with the same care and on the same general prin- 
ciples indicated for other trees. Let the soil be 
mellow and good. Mulch at once, and water 
abundantly the first summer during dry periods. 
Be sure that the trees are not set any deeper in 
the ground than they stood before removal. If 
the soil of the acre is heavy or poor, go to the 
road-side or some old pasture and find rich light 
soil with which to fill in around the roots. If no 
soil can be found without a large proportion of 
clay, the addition of a little sand, thoroughly 
mixed through it, is beneficial. The hole should 
be ample in size, so that the roots can be spread 
out according to their natural bent. If the ground 
after planting needs enriching, spread the fertilizer 
around the trees, not against them, and on the 
surface only. Never put manure on or very near 
the roots. 

Fine young seedling evergreens can often be 
found in the woods or fields, and may be had for 
the asking, or for a trifling sum. Dig them so as 
to save all the roots possible. Never permit these 
to become dry till they are safe in your own 



TREE-PLANTING. 3 1 

grounds. Aim to start the little trees under the 
same conditions in which you found them in 
Nature. If taken from a shady spot, they should 
be shaded for a season or two, until they become 
accustomed to sunlight. This can easily be ac- 
complished by four crotched stakes supporting a 
light scaffolding, on which is placed during the hot 
months a few evergreen boughs. 

Very pretty and useful purposes can often be 
served by the employment of certain kinds of 
evergreens as hedges. I do not like the arbitrary 
and stiff divisions of a small place which I have 
often seen. They take away the sense of roomi- 
ness, and destroy the possibility of pretty little 
vistas; but when used judiciously as screens they 
combine much beauty with utility. As part of 
line fences they are often eminently satisfactory, 
shutting out prying eyes and inclosing the home 
within walls of living green. The strong-growing 
pines and Norway spruce are better adapted to 
large estates than to the area of an acre. There- 
fore we would advise the employment of the 
American arbor vitae and of hemlock. The hedge 
of the latter evergreen on Mr. Fuller's place formed 
one of the most beautiful and symmetrical walls 
I have ever seen. It was so smooth, even, and 
impervious that in the distance it appeared Hke 
solid emerald. 



32 THE HOME ACRE. 

The ground should be thoroughly prepared for 
a hedge by deep ploughing or by digging; the 
trees should be small, young, of even height and 
size, and they should be planted carefully in line, 
according to the directions already given for a 
single specimen ; the ground on each side mulched 
and kept moist during the first summer. In the 
autumn, rake the mulch away and top-dress the 
soil on both sides for the space of two or three 
feet outward from the stems with well-decayed 
manure. This protects the roots and insures a 
vigorous growth the coming season. Allow no 
weeds or even grass to encroach on the young 
hedge until it is strong and estabHshed. For the 
first year no trimming will be necessary beyond 
cutting back an occasional branch or top that is 
growing stronger than the others ; and this should 
be done in early October. During the second 
season the plants should grow much more strongly; 
and now the shears are needed in summer. Some 
branches and top shoots will push far beyond the 
others. They should be cut back evenly, and in 
accordance with the shape the hedge is to take. 
The pyramidal form appears to me to be the one 
most in harmony with Nature. In October, the 
hedge should receive its final shearing for the year; 
and if there is an apparent deficiency of vigor, 
the ground on both sides should receive another 



TREE-PLANTING. 33 

top-dressing, after removing the summer mulch. 
As the hedge grows older and stronger, the prin- 
cipal shearing will be done in early summer, as 
this checks growth and causes the close, dense 
interlacing of branches and formation of foliage 
wherein the beauty and usefulness of the hedge 
consist. 



CHAPTER II. 

FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 

IT is a happy proof of our civilization that a 
dwelling-place, a shelter from sun and storm, 
does not constitute a home. Even the modest 
rooms of our mechanics are not furnished with 
useful articles merely; ornaments and pictures 
appear quite as indispensable. Out-of-doors the 
impulse to beautify is even stronger; and usually 
the purchaser's first effort is to make his place 
attractive by means of trees and shrubs that are 
more than useful, — they are essential; because the 
refined tastes of men and women to-day demand 
them. 

In the first chapter I endeavored to satisfy this 
demand in some degree, and now will ask the 
reader's attention to a few practical suggestions 
in regard to several of the fruits which best sup- 
ply the family need. We shall find, however, that 
while Nature is prodigal in supplying what appeals 
to the palate and satisfies hunger, she is also like a 
graceful hostess who decks her banquet with all the 
beauty that she can possibly bestow upon it. We 



36 THE HOME ACRE. 

can imagine that the luscious fruits of the year 
might have been produced in a much more prosaic 
way. Indeed, we are at a loss to decide which we 
value the more, the apple-blossoms or the apples 
which follow. Nature is not content with bulk, 
flavor, and nutriment, but in the fruit itself so 
deftly pleases the eye with every trick of color 
and form that the hues and beauty of the flower 
are often surpassed. We look at a red-cheeked 
apple or purple cluster of grapes hesitatingly, and 
are loth to mar the exquisite shadings and perfect 
outlines of the vessel in which the rich juices are 
served. Therefore, in stocking the acre with fruit, 
the proprietor has not ceased to embellish it; and 
should he decide that fruit-trees must predominate 
over those grown for shade and ornament only, he 
can combine almost as much beauty as utility with 
his plan. 

All the fruits may be set out both in the spring 
and the fall seasons ; but in our latitude and north- 
ward, I should prefer early spring for strawberries 
and peaches. 

By this time we may suppose that the owner of 
the acre has matured his plans, and marked out 
the spaces designed for the lawn, garden, fruit- 
trees, vines, etc. Fruit-trees, like shade-trees, are 
not the growth of a summer. Therefore there is 
natural eagerness to have them in the ground as 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 3/ 

soon as possible, and they can usually be ordered 
from the same nursery, and at the same time with 
the ornamental stock. I shall speak first of apples, 
pears, and cherries, and I have been at some pains 
to secure the opinions of eminent horticulturists as 
to the best selections of these fruits for the home 
table, not for market. When there is a surplus, 
however, there will be no difficulty in disposing of 
the fine varieties named. 

The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, the veteran Presi- 
dent of the American Pomological Society, writes 
as follows : " Herewith is the selection I have made 
for family use; but I could put in as many more in 
some of the classes which are just as desirable, 
or nearly so. These have been made with refer- 
ence to covering the seasons. Apples — Red Astra- 
khan, Porter, Gravenstein, Rhode Island Greening, 
Baldwin, Roxbury Russet, and Sweet Bough for 
baking. Pears — Clapp's P'^avorite (to be gathered 
August 20), Bartlett, Seckel, Sheldon, Beurre 
Bosc, Buerre d'Anjou, and Vicar of Winkfield 
for baking, etc. Cherries — Black Eagle, Black 
Tartarian, Downer, Windsor, Cumberland, and 
Red Jacket." 

Mr. Wilder's honored name, like that of the late 
Charles Downing, is inseparably linked with Amer- 
ican fruits, and the country owes these two men 
a debt of gratitude which never can be paid for 



38 THE HOME ACRE. 

their life-long and intelligent efforts to guide the 
people wisely in the choice and culture of the very 
best varieties. A moment's thought will convince 
the reader that I am not giving too much space to 
this matter of selection. We are now dealing with 
questions which wide and varied experience can 
best answer. Men who give their lives to the cul- 
tivation and observation of fruits in all their myriad 
varieties acquire a knowledge which is almost in- 
valuable. We cannot afford to put out trees, to 
give them good culture, and wait for years, only 
to learn that all our care has been bestowed on 
inferior or second-rate varieties. Life is too brief. 
We all feel that the best is good enough for us ; 
and the best usually costs no more in money or 
time than do less desirable varieties. Therefore 
I seek to give on this important question of choice 
the opinions of some of the highest authorities in 
the land. 

Mr. A. S. Fuller is not only a well-known hor- 
ticultural author, but has also had the widest 
experience in the culture and observation of 
fruit. He prefaces his opinion with the following 
words : " How much and how often we horticultu- 
rists have been puzzled with questions like yours ! 
If we made no progress, were always of the 
same mind, and if seasons never changed, then 
perhaps there would be little difficulty in deciding 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 39 

which of the varieties of the different kinds of 
fruit were really the best. But seasons, our tastes, 
and even the varieties sometimes change; and 
our preferences and opinions must vary accord- 
ingly. Apples — Early Harvest, Fall Pippins, 
Spitzenburgh, Rhode Island Greening, Autumn 
Sweet Bough, and Talman's Sweet. Cherries 
— Early Purple Guigne, Bigarreau of Mezel, 
Black Eagle, Coe's Transparent, Governor Wood, 
and Belle Magnifique." 

The choice of Mr. E. S. Carmen, editor of the 
" Rural New Yorker: " " Apples — Early Harvest, 
Gravenstein, Jefferis, Baldwin, Mother, Spitzen- 
burgh. Pears — Seckel, Tyson, Clapp's Favor- 
ite, Bartlett, Beurre d'Anjou, and Dana's Hovey. 
Cherries — Black Tartarian, Coe's Transparent, 
Governor Wood, Mezel, Napoleon Bigarreau." 

The authorities appear to differ. And so they 
would in regard to any locality; but it should be 
remembered that President Wilder advises for the 
latitude of Massachusetts, Messrs. Fuller and Car- 
men for that of New Jersey. I will give now the 
selection of the eminent horticulturist Mr. P. C. 
Berckmans for the latitude of Georgia : " Cherries 
(this is not a good cherry-producing region, but I 
name the following as the best in order of merit) — 
Buttners, Governor Wood, Belle de Choisy, Early 
Richmond, and May Duke. Pears (in order of 



40 THE HOME ACRE. 

maturity), Clapp's Favorite, Seckel, Duchesse, 
Beurre Superfine, Leconte, Winter Nellis, or Glout. 
Morceau. Apples — Early Harvest, Red June, 
Carter's Blue, Stevenson's Winter, Shockley, Bun- 
combe, Carolina Greening. 

He who makes his choice from these selections 
will not meet with much disappointment. I am 
aware, however, that the enjoyment of fruit de- 
pends much upon the taste of the individual; and 
who has a better right to gratify his taste than the 
man who buys, sets out, and cares for the trees ? 
Some familiar kind not in favor with the fruit 
critics, an old variety that has become a dear 
memory of boyhood, may be the best one of all 
for him, — perhaps for the reason that it recalls the 
loved faces that gathered about the wide, quaint 
fireplace of his childhood's home. 

It is also a well-recognized fact that certain 
varieties of fruit appear to be peculiarly adapted 
to certain localities. Because a man has made a 
good selection on general principles, he need not 
be restricted to this choice. He will soon find his 
trees growing lustily and making large branching 
heads. Each branch can be made to produce a 
different kind of apple or pear, and the kindred 
varieties of cherries will succeed on the same tree. 
For instance, one may be visiting a neighbor who 
gives him some fruit that is unusually delicious. 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 4 1 

or that manifest great adaptation to the locahty, 
As a rule the neighbor will gladly give scions 
which, grafted upon the trees of the Home Acre, 
will soon begin to yield the coveted variety. This 
opportunity to grow different kinds of fruit on one 
tree imparts a new and delightful interest to the 
orchard. The proprietor can always be on the 
lookout for something new and fine, and the few 
moments required in grafting or budding make 
it his. The operation is so simple and easy that 
he can learn to perform it himself, and there are 
always plenty of adepts in the rural vicinage to 
give him his initial lesson. While he will keep the 
standard kinds for his main supply, he can gratify 
his taste and eye with some pretty innovations, 
I know of an apple-tree which bears over a hun- 
dred varieties. A branch, for instance, is produ- 
cing Yellow Bell-flowers. At a certain point in its 
growth where it has the diameter of a man's thumb 
it may be grafted with the Red Baldwin. When 
the scion has grown for two or three years, its 
leading shoots can be grafted with the Roxbury 
Russet, and eventually the terminal bough of this 
growth with the Early Harvest.- Thus may be pre- 
sented the interesting spectacle of one limb of a 
tree yielding four very distinct kinds of apples. 

In the limited area of an acre there is usually not 
very much range in soil and locality. The owner 



42 THE HOME ACRE. 

must make the best of what he has bought, and 
remedy unfavorable conditions, if they exist, by 
skill. It should be remembered that peaty, cold, 
damp, spongy soils are unfit for fruit-trees of any 
kind. We can scarcely imagine, however, that one 
would buy land for a home containing much soil 
of this nature. A sandy loam, with a subsoil that 
dries out so quickly that it can be worked after a 
heavy rain, is the best for nearly all the fruit-trees, 
especially for cherries and peaches. Therefore in 
selecting the ground, be sure it is well drained. 

If the acre has been enriched and ploughed 
twice deeply, as I have already suggested, little 
more is necessary in planting than to excavate a 
hole large enough to receive the roots spread out 
in their natural positions. Should no such thor- 
ough and general preparation have been made, or 
if the ground is hard, poor, and stony, the owner 
will find it to his advantage to dig a good-sized 
hole three or four feet across and two deep, filling 
in and around the tree with fine rich surface soil. 
If he can obtain some thoroughly decomposed 
compost or manure, for instance, as the scrapings 
of a barn-yard, or rich black soil from an old pas- 
ture, to mix with the earth beneath and around the 
roots, the good effects will be seen speedily; but in 
no instance should raw manure from the stable, or 
anything that must decay before becoming plant- 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 43 

food, be brought in contact with the roots. Again 
I repeat my caution against planting too deeply, — 
one of the commonest and most fatal errors. Let 
the tree be set about as deeply as it stood before 
removal. If the tree be planted early in spring, as 
it should be, there will be moisture enough in the 
soil ; but when planting is delayed until the ground 
has become rather dry and warm, a pail of water 
poured about its roots when the hole has been 
nearly filled will be beneficial. Now that the tree 
is planted, any kind of coarse manure spread to the 
depth of two or three inches on the surface as a 
mulch is very useful. Stake at once to protect 
against the winds. Do not make the common mis- 
take of planting too closely. Observe the . area 
shaded by fully grown trees, and you will learn 
the folly of, crowding. Moreover, dense shade 
about the house is not desirable. There should 
be space for plenty of air and sunshine. The fruit 
from one well-developed tree will often more than 
supply a family; for ten or fifteen barrels of apples 
is not an unusual yield. The standard apples should 
be thirty feet apart. Pears, the dwarfer-growing 
cherries, plums, etc., can be grown in the inter- 
vening spaces. In ordering from the nurseries 
insist on straight, shapely, and young trees, say 
three years from the bud. Many trees that are 
sent out are small enough, but they are old and 



44 THE HOME ACRE. 

stunted. Also require that there should be an 
abundance of fibrous and unmutilated roots. 

Because the young trees come from the nursery 
unpruned, do not leave them in that condition. 
Before planting, or immediately after, cut back all 
the branches at least one-half; and where they 
are too thick, cut out some altogether. In re- 
moval the tree has lost much of its root power, 
and it is absurd to expect it to provide for just as 
much top as before. 

In many books on fruit-culture much space has 
been given to dwarf pears, apples, and cherries, and 
trees of this character were planted much more 
largely some years ago than they are at present. 
The pear is dwarfed by grafting it on the quince ; 
the apple can be limited to a mere garden fruit- 
tree in size by being grown on a Doucin stock, or 
even reduced to the size of a bush if compelled to 
draw its life through the roots of the Paradise. 
These two named stocks, much employed by 
European nurserymen, are distinct species of 
apples, and reproduce themselves without varia- 
tion from the seed. The cherry is dwarfed by 
being worked on the Mahaleb, — a small, handsome 
tree, with glossy, deep-green foliage, much culti- 
vated abroad as an ornament of lawns. Except 
in the hands of practised gardeners, trees thus 
dwarfed are seldom satisfactory, for much skill 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 45 

and care are required in their cultivation. Their 
chief advantages consist in the fact that they bear 
early and take but little space. Therefore they 
may be considered worthy of attention by the 
purchasers of small places. Those who are dis- 
posed to make pets of their trees and to indulge 
in horticultural experiments may derive much pleas- 
ure from these dwarfs, for they can be developed 
into symmetrical pyramids or graceful, fruitful 
shrubs within the limits of a garden border. 

When the seeds of ordinary apples and pears 
are sown they produce seedlings, or free stocks, 
and upon these are budded or grafted the fine 
varieties which compose our orchards. They are 
known as standard trees ; they come into bearing 
more slowly, and eventually attain the normal size 
familiar to us all. Standard cherries are worked 
on seedlings of the Mazzard, which Barry describes 
as a *' lofty, rapid-growing, pyramidal-headed tree." 
I should advise the reader to indulge in the dwarfs 
very charily, and chiefly as a source of fairly profit- 
able amusement. It is to the standards that he 
will look for shade, beauty, and abundance of 
fruit. 

Since we have been dwelling on the apple, pear, 
and cherry, there are certain advantages of con- 
tinuing the subject in the same connection, giving 
the principles of cultivation and care until- the 



46 THE HOME ACRE. 

trees reach maturity. During the first summer 
an occasional watering may be required in long 
periods of drought. In many instances buds will 
form and start along the stem of the tree, or near 
the roots. These should be rubbed off the 
moment they are detected. 

One of our chief aims is to form an evenly 
balanced, open, symmetrical head; and this can 
often be accomplished better by a little watchful- 
ness during the season of growth than at any other 
time. If, for instance, two branches start so closely 
together that one or the other must be removed in 
the spring pruning, why let the superfluous one 
grow at all ? It is just so much wasted effort. By 
rubbing off the pushing bud or tender shoot the 
strength of the tree is thrown into the branches 
that we wish to remain. Thus the eye and hand 
of the master become to the young tree what in- 
struction, counsel, and admonition are to a grow- 
ing boy, with the difference that the tree is easily 
and certainly managed when taken in time. 

The study of the principles of growth in the 
young trees can be made as pleasing as it is profit- 
able, for the readiness with which they respond to 
a guiding hand will soon invest them with almost 
a human interest. A child will not show neglect 
more certainly than they; and if humored and 
allowed to grow after their own fashion, they will 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 47 

soon prove how essential are restraint and training. 
A fruit tree is not like one in a forest, — a simple, 
unperverted product of Nature. It is a result of hu- 
man interference and development; and we might 
just as reasonably expect our domestic animals to 
take care of themselves as our grafted and budded 
trees. Moreover, they do not comply with their 
raison d'etre by merely existing, growing, and 
propagating their kind. A Bartlett pear-tree, like 
a Jersey cow, is given place for the sake of its 
delicious product. It is also like the cow in re- 
quiring judicious feeding and care. 

Trees left to themselves tend to form too much 
wood, like the grape-vine. Of course fine fruit is 
impossible when the head of a tree is like a 
thicket. The growth of unchecked branches fol- 
lows the terminal bud, thus producing long naked 
reaches of wood devoid of fruit spurs. Therefore 
the need of shortening in, so that side branches 
may be developed. When the reader remembers 
that every dormant bud in early spring is a pos- 
sible branch, and that even the immature buds at 
the axil of the leaves in early summer can be forced 
into immediate growth by pinching back the lead- 
ing shoot, he will see how entirely the young tree 
is under his control. These simple facts and prin- 
ciples are worth far more to the intelligent man 
than any number of arbitrary rules as to pruning. 



48 THE HOME ACRE. 

Reason and observation soon guide his hand in 
summer or his knife in March, — the season when 
trees are usually trimmed. 

Beyond shortening in leading branches and 
cutting out crossing and interfering boughs, so 
as to keep the head symmetrical and open to hght 
and air, the cherry does not need very much 
pruning. If with the lapse of years it becomes 
necessary to take off large limbs from any fruit- 
tree, the authorities recommend early June as the 
best season for the operation. 

It will soon be discovered — quite likely during 
the first summer — that fruit-trees have enemies, 
that they need not only cultivation and feeding, 
but also protection. The pear, apple, and quince 
are liable to one mysterious disease which it is 
almost impossible to guard against or cure, — the 
fire-blight. Of course there have been innumerable 
preventives and cures recommended, just as we 
see a dozen certain remedies for consumption 
advertised in any popular journal ; but the dis- 
ease still remains a disheartening mystery, and is 
more fatal to the pear than to its kindred fruits. 
I have had thrifty young trees, just coming into 
bearing, suddenly turn black in both wood and 
foHage, appearing in the distance as if scorched by 
a blast from a furnace. In another instance a large 
mature tree was attacked, losing in a summer half 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 49 

its boughs. These were cut out, and the remainder 
of the tree appeared healthy during the following 
summer, and bore a good crop of fruit. The dis- 
ease often attacks but a single branch or a small 
portion of a tree. The authorities advise that 
everything should be cut away at once below all 
evidence of infection and burned. Some of my 
trees have been attacked and have recovered; 
others were apparently recovering, but died a year 
or two later. One could theorize to the end of a 
volume about the trouble. I frankly confess that I 
know neither the cause nor the remedy. It seems 
to me that our best resource is to comply with the 
general conditions of good and healthy growth. 
The usual experience is that trees which are ferti- 
lized with wood-ashes and a moderate amount of 
lime and salt, rather than with stimulating manures, 
escape the disease. If the ground is poor, how- 
ever, and the growth feeble, barn-yard manure or 
its equivalent is needed as a mulch. The apple- 
blight is another kindred and equally obscure dis- 
ease. No better remedy is known than to cut out 
the infected part at once. 

In coping with insects we can act more intelli- 
gently, and therefore successfully. We can study 
the characters of our enemies, and learn their 
vulnerable points. The black and green aphides, 
or plant-lice, are often very troublesome. They 

4 



50 THE HOME ACRE. 

appear in immense numbers on the young and 
tender shoots of trees, and by sucking their juices 
check or enfeeble the growth. They are the milch- 
cows of ants, which are usually found very busy 
among them. Nature apparently has made ample 
provision for this pest, for it has been estimated 
that " one individual in five generations might be 
the progenitor of six thousand millions." They 
are easily destroyed, however. Mr. Barry, of the 
firm of Ellwanger & Barry, in his excellent work 
" The Fruit Garden," writes as follows : " Our plan 
is to prepare a barrel of tobacco juice by steeping 
stems for several days, until the juice is of a dark 
brown color ; we then mix this with soap-suds. A 
pail is filled, and the ends of the shoots, where the 
insects are assembled, are bent down and dipped 
in the liquid. One dip is enough. Such parts as 
cannot be dipped are sprinkled liberally with a 
garden-syringe, and the application repeated from 
time to time, as long as any of the aphides remain. 
The liquid may be so strong as to injure the 
foliage ; therefore it is well to test it on one or two 
subjects before using it extensively. Apply it in 
the evening." 

The scaly aphis or bark-louse attacks weak, 
feeble-growing trees, and can usually be removed 
by scrubbing the bark with the preparation given 
above. 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 5 1 

In our region and in many localities the apple- 
tree borer is a very formidable pest, often destroy- 
ing a young tree before its presence is known. I 
once found a young tree in a distant part of my 
place that I could push over with my finger. In 
June a brown and white striped beetle deposits 
its eggs in the bark of the apple-tree near the 
ground. The larvae when hatched bore their way 
into the wood, and will soon destroy a small tree. 
They cannot do their mischief, however, without 
giving evidence of their presence. Sawdust exudes 
from the holes by which they entered, and there 
should be sufficient watchfulness to discover them 
before they have done much harm. I prefer to 
cut them out with a sharp, pointed knife, and 
make sure that they are dead ; but a wire thrust 
into the hole v/ill usually pierce and kill them. 
Wood-ashes mounded up against the base of the 
tree are said to be a preventive. In the fall 
they can be spread, and they at least make one 
of the best of fertilizers. 

The codling-moth, or apple-worm, is another 
enemy that should be fought resolutely, for it de- 
stroys millions of bushels of fruit. In the latitude 
of New York State this moth begins its depreda- 
tions about the middle of June. Whatever may be 
thought of the relation of the apple to the fall of 
man, this creature certainly leads to the speedy fall 



52 THE HOME ACRE. 

of the apple. Who has not seen the ground cov- 
ered with premature and decaying fruit in July, 
August, and September ? Each specimen will be 
found perforated by a worm-hole. The egg has 
been laid in the calyx of the young apple, where 
it soon hatches into a small white grub, which bur- 
rows into the core, throwing out behind it a brown- 
ish powder. After about three weeks of apple 
diet it eats its way out, shelters itself under the 
scaly bark of the tree — if allowed to be scaly — or 
in some other hiding-place, spins a cocoon, and in 
about three weeks comes out a moth, and is ready 
to help destroy other apples. This insect prob- 
ably constitutes one of Nature's methods of pre- 
venting trees from overbearing; but like some 
people we know, it so exaggerates its mission as to 
become an insufferable nuisance. The remedies 
recommended are that trees should be scraped free 
of all scales in the spring, and washed with a solu- 
tion of soft soap. About the ist of July, wrap 
bandages of old cloth, carpet, or rags of any kind 
around the trunk and larger limbs. The worms 
will appreciate such excellent cover, and will swarm 
into these hiding-places to undergo transformation 
into moths. Therefore the wraps of rags should 
often be taken down, thrown into scalding water, 
dried, and replaced. The fruit as it falls should 
be picked up at once and carried to the pigs, 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 53 

and, when practicable, worm-infested specimens 
should be taken from the trees before the worm 
escapes. 

The canker-worm in those localities where it is 
destructive can be guarded against by bands of 
tar-covered canvas around the trees. The moth 
cannot fly, but crawls up the tree in the late 
autumn and during mild spells in winter, but es- 
pecially throughout the spring until May. When 
the evil-disposed moth meets the tarry band he 
finds no thoroughfare, and is either caught or com- 
pelled to seek some other arena of mischief 

We have all seen the flaunting, unsightly abodes 
of the tent caterpillar and the foliage-denuded 
branches about them. Fortunately these are not 
stealthy enemies, and the owner can scarcely see 
his acre at all without being aware of their pres- 
ence. He has only to look very early in the morn- 
ing or late in the evening to find them all bunched 
up in their nests. These should be taken down 
and destroyed. 

Cherry and pear slugs, " small, slimy, dark brown 
worms," can be destroyed by dusting the trees with 
dry wood ashes or air-slacked lime. 

Field-mice often girdle young trees, especially 
during the winter, working beneath the snow. 
Unless heaps of rubbish are left here and there as 
shelter for these little pests, one or two good cats 



54 THE HOME ACRE. 

will keep the acre free of them. Treading the 
snow compactly around the tree is also practised. 

Do not let the reader be discouraged by this list 
of the most common enemies, or by hearing of 
others. After reading some medical works we are 
led to wonder that the human race does not speed- 
ily die out. As a rule, however, with moderate 
care, most of us are able to say, *' I 'm pretty well, I 
thank you," and when ailing we do not straightway 
despair. In spite of all enemies and drawbacks, 
fruit is becoming more plentiful every year. If 
one man can raise it, so can another. 

Be hospitable to birds, the best of all insect 
destroyers. Put up plenty of houses for bluebirds 
and wrens, and treat the little brown song-sparrow 
as one of your stanchest friends. 

A brief word in regard to the quince, and our 
present list of fruits is compiete. 

If the quince is cultivated after the common ne- 
glectful method, it would better be relegated to an 
obscure part of the garden, for, left to itself, it 
makes a great sprawling bush ; properly trained, 
it becomes a beautiful ornament to the lawn, like 
the other fruits that I have described. Only a 
little care, with the judicious use of the pruning- 
shears, is required to develop it into a miniature 
and fruitful tree, which can be grown with a natu- 
ral rounded head or in the form of a pyramid, as 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 55 

the cultivator chooses. It will thrive well on the 
same soil and under similar treatment accorded to 
the pear or the apple. Procure from a nursery 
straight-stemmed plants ; set them out about eight 
feet apart ; begin to form the head three feet from 
the ground, and keep the stem and roots free from 
all sprouts and suckers. Develop the head just as 
you would that of an apple-tree, shortening in the 
branches, and cutting out those that interfere with 
each other. Half a dozen trees will soon give an 
ample supply. The orange and the pear shaped 
are the varieties usually recommended. Rea's 
Mammoth is also highly spoken of Remember 
that the quince equally with the apple is subject 
to injury from the borer, and the evil should be 
met as I have already described. 

There is a natural wish to have as much grass 
about the dwelling as possible, for nothing is more 
beautiful. If there are children, they will assur- 
edly petition for lawn-tennis and croquet grounds. 
I trust that their wishes may be gratified, for 
children are worth infinitely more than anything 
else that can be grown upon the acre. With a 
little extra care, all the trees of which I have 
spoken can be grown in the spaces allotted to 
grass. It is only necessary to keep a circle of 
space six feet in diameter — the trunk forming the 
centre — around the tree mellow and free from any 



56 THE HOME ACRE. 

vegetable growth whatever. This gives a chance 
to fertilize and work the ground immediately over 
the roots. Of course vigorous fruit-trees cannot 
be grown in a thick sod, while peaches and grapes 
require the free culture of the garden, as will be 
shown hereafter. In view, however, of the general 
wish for grass, I have advised on the supposition 
that all the ornamental trees, most of the shrubs, 
and the four fruits named would be grown on the 
portions of the acre to be kept in lawn. It may be 
added here that plums also will do well under the 
same conditions, if given good care. 

Grass is a product that can be cultivated as truly 
as the most delicate and fastidious of fruits, and I 
had the lawn in mind when I urged the generous 
initial deep ploughing and enriching. Nothing that 
grows responds more promptly to good treatment 
than grass ; but a fine lawn cannot be created in 
a season, any more than a fine tree. 

We will suppose that the spring plantings of 
trees have been made with open spaces reserved " 
for the favorite games. Now the ground can be 
prepared for grass-seed, for it need not be tram- 
pled over any more. If certain parts have become 
packed and hard, they should be dug or ploughed 
deeply again, then harrowed and raked perfectly 
smooth, and all stones, big or little, taken from the 
surface. The seed may now be sown, and it should 



FRUIT-TREES AND GRASS. 57 

be of thick, fine-growing varieties, such as are em- 
ployed in Central Park and other pleasure-grounds. 
Mr. Samuel Parsons, Jr., Superintendent of Cen- 
tral Park, writes me : " The best grass-seeds for 
ordinary lawns are a mixture of red-top and Ken- 
tucky blue-grass in equal parts, with perhaps a 
small amount of white clover. On very sandy 
ground I prefer the Kentucky blue-grass, as it is 
very hardy and vigorous under adverse circum- 
stances." Having sown and raked in the seed very 
lightly, a great advantage will be gained in passing 
a lawn-roller over the ground. I have succeeded 
well in getting a good " catch" of grass by sow- 
ing the seed with oats, which were cut and cured 
as hay as soon as the grain was what is termed " in 
the milk." The strong and quickly growing oats 
make the ground green in a few days, and shel- 
ter the slower-maturing grass-roots. Mr. Parsons 
says, *' I prefer to sow the grass-seed alone." As 
soon as the grass begins to grow with some vigor, 
cut it often, for this tends to thicken it and produce 
the velvety effect that is so beautiful. From the 
very first the lawn will need weeding. The ground 
contains seeds of strong growing plants, such as 
dock, plantain, etc., which should be taken out as 
fast as they appear. To some the dandelion is a 
weed ; but not to me, unless it takes more than its 
share of space, for I always miss these little earth 



58 THE HOME ACRE. 

stars when they are absent. They intensify the 
sunshine shimmering on the lawn, making one 
smile involuntarily when seeing them. Moreover, 
they awaken pleasant memories, for a childhood 
in which dandelions had no part is a defective 
experience. 

In late autumn the fallen leaves should ~ be 
raked carefully away, as they tend to smother the 
grass if permitted to lie until spring. Now comes 
the chief opportunity of the year, in the form of a 
liberal top-dressing of manure from the stable. If 
this is spread evenly and not too thickly in Novem- 
ber, and the coarser remains of it are raked off 
early in April, the results will be astonishing. A 
deep emerald hue will be imparted to the grass, 
and the frequent cuttings required will soon pro- 
duce a turf that yields to the foot like a Persian 
rug. Any one who has walked over the plain at 
West Point can understand the value of these reg- 
ular autumnal top-dressings. If the stable-manure 
can be composted and left till thoroughly decayed, 
fine, and friable, all the better. If stable-manure 
cannot be obtained, Mr. Parsons recommends 
Mapes's fertilizer for lawns. 



CHAPTER m. 

THE GARDEN. 

WE now approach that part of the acre to 
which its possessor will probably give his 
warmest and most frequent thoughts, — the garden. 
If properly made and conducted, it will yield a 
revenue which the wealth of the Indies could not 
purchase; for who ever bought in market the flavor 
of fruit and vegetables raised by one's own hands 
or under our own eyes? Sentiment does count. 
A boy is a boy; but it makes a vast difference 
whether he is our boy or not. A garden may 
soon become a part of the man himself, and he 
be a better man for its care. Wholesome are the 
thoughts and schemes it suggests; healthful are 
the blood and muscle resulting from its products 
and labor therein. Even with the purse of a mil- 
lionnaire, the best of the city's markets is no sub- 
stitute for a garden ; for Nature and life are here, 
and these are not bought and sold. From stalls 
and peddlers' wagons we can buy but dead and 
dying things. The indolent epicure's enjoyment 
of game is not the relish of the sportsman who 



60 THE HOME ACRE. 

has taken his dinner direct from the woods and 
waters. 

I am often told, " It is cheaper to buy fruit and 
vegetables than to raise them." I have nothing 
to say in reply. There are many cheap things 
that we can have; experience has proved that 
one of the best things to have is a garden, either 
to work in or to visit daily when the season per- 
mits. We have but one life to live here, and 
to get the cheapest things out of it is a rather 
poor ambition. 

There are multitudes who can never possess an 
acre, more or less, and who must obtain Nature's 
products at second hand. This is not so great a 
misfortune as to have no desire for her compan- 
ionship, or wish to work under her direction in 
dewy mornings and shadowy evenings. We may 
therefore reasonably suppose that the man who 
has exchanged his city shelter for a rural home 
looks forward to the garden with the natural, pri- 
mal instinct, and is eager to make the most of it 
in all its aspects. Then let us plunge /;/ medias 
res at once. 

The ideal soil for a garden is a mellow, sandy 
loam, underlaid with a subsoil that is not too open 
or porous. Such ground is termed '' grateful," and 
it is not the kind of gratitude which has been de- 
fined as *' a lively appreciation of favors to come," 



THE GARDEN. 6 1 

which is true of some other soils. This ideal land 
remembers past favors; it retains the fertilizers 
with which it has been enriched, and returns them 
in the form of good crops until the gift is ex- 
hausted ; therefore it is a thrifty as well as a 
grateful soil. The owner can bring it up to the 
highest degree of fertility, and keep it there by 
judicious management. This sandy loam — Na- 
ture's blending of sand and clay — is a safe bank. 
The manure incorporated with it is a deposit which 
can be drawn against in fruit and vegetables, for 
it does not leach away and disappear with one 
season's rains. 

Light, thin, sandy soil, with a porous or gravelly 
subsoil, is of a very different type, and requires 
different treatment. It is a spendthrift. No mat- 
ter how much you give it one year, it very soon 
requires just so much more. You can enrich it, 
but you can't keep it rich. Therefore you must 
manage it as one would take care of a spendthrift, 
giving what is essential at the time, and in a way 
that permits as little waste as possible. I shall 
explain this treatment more fully farther on. 

In the choice of a garden plot you may be re- 
stricted to a stiff, tenacious, heavy clay. Now you 
have a miser to deal with, — a soil that retains, but 
in many cases makes no proper use of, what it 
receives. Skill and good management, however, 



62 THE HOME ACRE. 

can improve any soil, and coax luxuriant crops 
from the most unpropitious. 

We will speak first of the ideal soil already 
mentioned, and hope that the acre contains an 
area of it of suitable dimensions for a. garden. 
What should be the first step in this case? Why, 
to get more of it. A quarter of an acre can be 
made equal to half an acre. You can about 
double the garden, without adding to it an inch of 
surface, by increasing the depth of good soil. For 
instance, ground has been cultivated to the depth 
of six or seven inches. Try the experiment of 
stirring the soil and enriching it one foot down- 
ward, or eighteen inches, or even two feet, and see 
what vast differences will result. With every inch 
you go down, making all friable and fertile, you 
add just so much more to root pasturage. When 
you wish to raise a great deal, increase your lever- 
age. Roots are your levers ; and when they rest 
against a deep fertile soil they lift into the air and 
sunshine products that may well delight the eyes 
and palate of the most fastidious. We suggest 
that this thorough deepening, pulverization, and 
enriching of the soil be done at the start, when the 
plough can be used without any obstructions. If 
there are stones, rocks, roots, anything which pre- 
vents the treatment which a garden plot should 
receive, there is a decided advantage in clearing 



THE GARDEN. 63 

them all out at the beginning. Last fall I saw a 
half-acre that was swampy, and so encumbered 
with stones that one could walk all over it without 
stepping off the rocks. The land was sloping, and 
therefore capable of drainage. The proprietor put 
three men to work on the lower side with picks, 
shovels, and blasting-tools. They turned the soil 
over to the depth of eighteen inches, taking out 
every stone larger than a walnut. Eight or ten 
feet apart deep ditches were cut, and the stones, 
as far as possible, placed in these. The rest were 
carted away for a heavy wall. You may say it was 
expensive work. So it was ; yet so complete a 
garden spot was made that I believe it would yield 
a fair interest in potatoes alone. I relate this in- 
stance to show what can be done. A more for- 
bidding area for a garden in its original state could 
scarcely be found. Enough vegetables and fruit 
can be raised from it hereafter, with annual fertiliz- 
ing, to supply a large family; and it will improve 
every year under the refining effects of frost, sun, 
and cultivation. 

It should be remembered that culture does for 
soil what it does for men and women. It mellows, 
brings it up, and renders it capable of finer pro- 
ducts. Much, indeed, can be done with a crude 
piece of land in a single year when treated with the 
thoroughness that has been suggested, and some 



64 THE HOME ACRE. 

Strong-growing vegetables may be seen at their 
best during the first season ; but the more dehcate 
vegetables thrive better with successive years of 
cultivation. No matter how abundantly the ground 
may be enriched at first, time and chemical action 
are required to transmute the fertilizers into the 
best forms of plant-food, and make them a part of 
the very soil itself. Ploughing or spading, espe- 
cially if done in late autumn, exposes the mould 
to the beneficial action of the air and frost, and 
the garden gradually takes on the refined, mellow, 
fertile character which distinguishes it from the 
ordinary field. 

In dealing with a thin, sandy soil, one has almost 
to reverse the principles just given. Yet there is 
no cause for discouragement. Fine results, if not 
the best, can be secured. In this case there is 
scarcely any possibility for a thorough preparation 
of the soil from the start. It can gradually be im- 
proved, however, by making good its deficiencies, 
the chief of which is the lack of vegetable mould. 
If I had such soil I would rake up all the leaves I 
could find, employ them as bedding for my cow 
and pigs (if I kept any), and spread the compost- 
heap resulting on the sandy garden. The soil is 
already too light and warm, and it should be our 
aim to apply fertilizers tending to counteract this 
defect. A nervous, excitable person should let 



THE GARDEN. 65 

Stimulants alone, and take good, solid, blood-mak- 
ing food. This illustration suggests the proper 
course to be taken. Many a time I have seen 
action the reverse of this resulting disastrously. 
For instance, a man carts on his light thin soil hot 
fermenting manure from the horse-stable, and 
ploughs it under. Seeds are planted. In the 
moist, cool, early spring they make a great start, 
feeling the impulse of the powerful stimulant. 
There is a hasty and unhealthful growth ; but long 
before maturity the days grow long and hot, 
drought comes, and the garden dries up. There- 
fore every effort should be made to supply cool 
manures with staying qualities, such as are fur- 
nished by decayed vegetable matter composted 
with the cleanings of the cow-stable. We thus 
learn the value of fallen leaves, muck from the 
swamp, etc. ; and they also bring with them but 
few seeds of noxious vegetation. 

On the other hand, stolid, phlegmatic clay re- 
quires the stimulus of manure from the horse- 
stable. It can be ploughed under at once, and 
left to ferment and decay in the soil. The process 
of decomposition will tend to banish its cold, inert 
qualities, and make the ground loose, open, and 
amenable to the influences of frost, sun, and rain. 

Does the owner of light, warm soils ask, "What, 
then, shall I do with my stable-manure, since you 

5 



66 THE HOME ACRE. 

have said that it will be an injury to my garden? " 
I have not said this, — only that it will do harm if 
applied in its raw, hot, fermenting state. Compost 
it with leaves, sod, earth, muck, anything that will 
keep it from burning up with its own heat. If you 
can obtain no such ingredients, have it turned over 
and exposed to the air so often that it will decay 
without passing through a process approaching 
combustion. When it has become so thoroughly 
decomposed as to resemble a fine black powder, 
you have a fertilizer superior to any high-priced 
patent compound that can be bought. Farther on 
I will show how it can be used both in this state 
and also in its crude condition on light soils with 
the best results. 

It is scarcely possible to lay too much stress on 
this subject of fertilizers. The soil of the garden- 
plot looks inert: so does heavy machinery; but 
apply to it the proper motive power, and you have 
activity at once. Manure is the motive power to 
soil, and it should be applied in a way and degree 
to secure the best results. To produce some 
vegetables and fruits much is required ; in other 
growths, very little. 

In laying out a garden there are several points 
to be considered. The proprietor may be more 
desirous of securing some degree of beauty in the 
arrangement than of obtaining the highest condi- 



THE GARDEN. 6/ 

tion of productiveness. If this be true, he may 
plan to make down its centre a wide, gravelled 
walk, with a grape-arbor here and there, and fruit- 
trees and flowers in borders on each side of the 
path. So far from having any objection to this 
arrangement, I should be inclined to adopt it my- 
self. It would be conducive to frequent visits to 
the garden and to lounging in it, especially if there 
be rustic seats under the arbors. I am inclined to 
favor anything which accords with my theory that 
the best products of a garden are neither eaten 
nor sold. From such a walk down the middle of 
the garden the proprietor can glance at the rows 
of vegetables and small fruits on either side, and 
daily note their progress. What he loses in space 
and crops he gains in pleasure. 

Nor does he lose much; for if the borders on 
each side of the path are planted with grape-vines, 
peach and plum trees, flowers and shrubs, the very 
ground he walks on becomes part of their root 
pasturage. At the same time it must be admitted 
that the roots will also extend with depleting appe- 
tites into the land devoted to vegetables. The 
trees and vines above will, to some extent, cast an 
unwholesome shade. He who has set his heart on 
the biggest cabbages and best potatoes in town 
must cultivate them in ground open to the sky, 
and unpervaded by any roots except their own. 



6S THE HOME ACRE. 

If the general fruitfulness of the garden rather than 
perfection in a few vegetables is desired, the bor- 
ders, with their trees, vines, and flowers, will prove 
no objection. Moreover, when it comes to com- 
peting in cabbages, potatoes, etc., the proprietor 
of the Home Acre will find that some Irishman, 
by the aid of his redolent pig-pen, will surpass 
him. The roots and shade extending from his bor- 
ders will not prevent him from growing good 
vegetables, if not the largest. 

We will therefore suppose that, as the simplest 
and most economical arrangement, he has adopted 
the plan of a walk six feet wide extending through 
the centre of his garden. As was the case with the 
other paths, it will be greatly to his advantage to 
stake it out and remove about four inches of the 
surface-soil, piling it near the stable to be used for 
composting purposes or in the earth-closet. The 
excavation thus made should be filled with small 
stones or cinders, and then covered with fine gravel. 
A walk that shall be dry at all times is thus secured, 
and it will be almost wholly free from weeds. In 
these advantages alone one is repaid for the extra 
first cost, and in addition the rich surface soil ob- 
tained will double the bulk and value of the ferti- 
lizers with which it is mixed. 

Having made the walk, borders five feet wide 
can be laid out on each side of it, and the soil in 



THE GARDEN. 69 

these should be as rich and deep as any other 
parts of the garden. What shall be planted in 
these borders will depend largely on the tastes of 
the gardener; but, as has been suggested, there 
will assuredly be one or more shadowy grape- 
arbors under which the proprietor can retire to 
provide horticultural strategy. This brings us to 
that cJief-d' ceiivre of Nature, — 

The vine. It climbs by its tendrils, and they 
appear to have clasped the heart of humanity. 
Among the best of Heaven's gifts, it has sustained 
the worst perversions. But we will refrain from a 
temperance lecture ; also from sacred and classical 
reminiscences. The world is not composed of 
monks who thought to escape temptation — and 
vainly too — in stony cells. To some the purple 
cluster suggests Bacchanal revelry; to others, sit- 
ting under one's own vine and fig-tree, — in brief, a 
home. The vine is like woman, the inspiration of 
the best and the worst. 

It may well become one of the dreams of our 
life to own land, if for no other reason than that of 
obtaining the privilege of planting vines. As they 
take root, so will we; and after we have eaten 
their delicious fruit, the very thought of leaving 
our acre will be repugnant. The literature of the 
vine would fill a library; the literature of love 
would crowd many libraries. It is not essential to 



yO THE HOME ACRE. 

read everything before we start a little vineyard or 
go a-courting. 

It is said that about two thousand known and 
named varieties of grapes have been and are being 
grown in Europe; and all these are supposed to 
have been developed from one species ( Vitis 
vinifera), which originally was the wild product 
of Nature, like those growing in our thickets and 
forests. One can scarcely suppose this possible 
when contemplating a cluster of Tokay or some 
other highly developed variety of the hot-house. 
Yet the native vine, which began to *' yield fruit 
after his kind, the third day " (whatever may have 
been the length of that day), may have been, after 
all, a good starting-point in the process of develop- 
ment. One can hardly believe that the "one clus- 
ter of grapes " which the burdened spies, returning 
from Palestine, bore *' between two of them upon a 
staff," was the result of high scientific culture. In 
that clime, and when the world was young, Nature 
must have been more beneficent than now. It is 
certain that no such cluster ever hung from the 
native vines of this land ; yet it is from our wild 
species, whose fruit the Indians shared with the 
birds and foxes (when not hanging so high as to 
be sour) that we have developed the delicious 
varieties of our out-door vineyards. For about 
two centuries our forefathers kept on planting 



THE GARDEN. 7 1 

vines imported from Europe, only to meet with 
failure. Nature, that had so abundantly rewarded 
their efforts abroad, quietly checkmated them here. 
At last American fruit-growers took the hint, and 
began developing our native species. Then Nature 
smiled ; and as a lure along this correct path of 
progress, gave such incentives as the Isabella, the 
Catawba, and Concord. We are now bewildered 
by almost as great a choice of varieties from native 
species as they have abroad; and as an aid to 
selection I will again give the verdict of some of 
the authorities. 

The choice of the Hon. Norman J. Colman, Com- 
missioner of Agriculture : '' Early Victor, Worden, 
Martha, Elvira, Cynthiana." This is for the region 
of Missouri. For the latitude of New Jersey, A. 
S. Fuller's selection: ** Delaware, Concord, Moore's 
Early, Antoinette (white), Augusta (white), Goethe 
(amber)." E.S. Carmen: ''Moore's Early [you 
cannot praise this too much. The quality is mere- 
ly that of the Concord ; but the vines are marvels 
of perfect health, the bunches large, the berries 
of the largest size. They ripen all at once, 
and are fully ripe when the Concord begins to 
color], Worden, Brighton, Victoria (white), 
Niagara (white). El Dorado. [This does not 
thrive everywhere, but the grapes ripen early — 
September i, or before — and the quality is per- 



72 THE HOME ACttE. 

fection — white.] " Choice of P. J. Berckman, for 
the latitude of Georgia: ''White grapes — Peter 
Wyhe, Triumph, Maxatawny, Scuppernong. Red 
grapes — Delaware, Berckman's, Brighton. Black 
— Concord, Ives." 

As I have over a hundred varieties in bearing, 
I may venture to express an opinion also. I con- 
fess that I am very fond of those old favorites of 
our fathers, the Isabella and Catawba. They will 
not ripen everywhere in our latitude, yet I seldom 
fail to secure a good crop. In the fall of 1885 we 
voted the Isabella almost unsurpassed. If one has 
warm, well-drained soil, or can train a vine near the 
south side of a building, I should advise the trial 
of this fine old grape. The lona, Brighton, and 
Agawam also are great favorites with me. We 
regard the Diana, Wyoming Red, Perkins, and 
Roger's hybrids, Lindley, Wilder, and Amenia, as 
among the best. The Rebecca, Duchess, Lady 
Washington, and Purity are fine white grapes. I 
have not yet tested the Niagara. Years ago I ob- 
tained of Mr. James Ricketts, the prize-taker for 
seedling grapes, two vines of a small wine grape 
called the Bacchus. To my taste it is very pleas- 
ant after two or three slight frosts. 

Our list of varieties is long enough, and one 
must be fastidious indeed who does not find some 
to suit his taste. In many localities the chief 



THE GARDEN. 73 

question is, What kinds can I grow? In our fa- 
vored region on the Hudson almost all the out- 
door grapes will thrive; but as we go north the 
seasons become too cool and short for some kinds, 
and proceeding south the summers are too long 
and hot for others. The salt air of the sea-coast is 
not conducive to vine-culture, and only the most 
vigorous, like the Concord and Moore's Early, will 
resist the mildew bhght. We must therefore do 
the best we can, and that will be very well indeed 
in most localities. 

Because our list of good grapes is already so 
long, it does not follow that we have reached the 
limit of development by any means. When we 
remember that almost within a lifetime our fine 
varieties have been developed from the wild 
northern Fox grape {Vitis lahnisca), the Summer 
grape {cestivalis), Frost (cordifolia), we are led to 
think that perhaps we have scarcely more than 
crossed the stile which leads into the path of pro- 
gress. If I should live to keep up my little speci- 
men vineyard ten years longer, perhaps the greater 
part of the varieties now cultivated will have given 
place to others. The delicious Brighton requires 
no more space than a sour, defective variety; while 
the proprietor starts with the best kinds he can 
obtain, he will find no restraint beyond his own 
ignorance or carelessness that will prevent his 



74 THE HOME ACRE. 

replacing the Brighton with a variety twice as 
good when it is developed. Thus vine-planting 
and grape-tasting stretch away into an alluring 
and endless vista. 

When such exchanges are made, we do not 
recommend the grafting of a new favorite on an 
old vine. This is a pretty operation when one has 
the taste and leisure for it, and a new, high-priced 
variety can sometimes be obtained speedily and 
cheaply in this way. Usually, however, new kinds 
soon drop down within the means of almost any 
purchaser, and there are advantages in having 
each variety growing upon its own root. Nature 
yields to the skill of the careful gardener, and per- 
mits the insertion of one distinct variety of fruit up- 
on another ; but with the vine she does not favor 
this method of propagation and change, as in the 
case of pears and apples, where the graft forms a 
close, tenacious union with the stock in which it is 
placed. Mr. Fuller writes: *' On account of the 
peculiar structure of the wood of the vine, a last- 
ing union is seldom obtained when grafted above- 
ground, and is far from being certain even when 
grafted below the surface, by the ordinary method." 
The vine is increased so readily by easy and nat- 
ural methods, to be explained hereafter, that he 
who desires nothing more than to secure a good 
supply of grapes for the table can dismiss the 



THE GARDEN. 75 

subject On the other hand, those who wish to 
amuse themselves by experimenting with Nature 
can find abundant enjoyment in not only grafting- 
old vines, but also in raising new seedlings, among 
which he may obtain a prize which will " astonish 
the natives." Those, however, whose tastes carry 
them to such lengths in vine-culture will be sure 
to purchase exhaustive treatises on the subject, 
and will therefore give no heed to these simple 
practical chapters. It is my aim to enable the busi- 
ness man returning from his city office, or the 
farmer engrossed with the care of many acres, to 
learn in a few moments, from time to time, just 
what he must do to supply his family abundantly 
with fruits and vegetables. 

If one is about to adopt grape-culture as a call- 
ing, common-sense requires that he should locate 
in some region peculiarly adapted to the vine. If 
the possessor of a large farm, purposes to put 
several acres in vineyard, he should also aim to 
select a soil and exposure best suited to his pur- 
pose. Two thousand years ago Virgil wrote, 
" Nor let thy vineyard bend towards the sun when 
setting." The inference is that the vines should 
face the east, if possible ; and from that day to this, 
eastern and southern exposures have been found 
the best. Yet climate modifies even this principle. 
In the South, I should plant my vineyard on a 



J6 THE HOME ACRE. 

northwestern slope, or on the north side of a belt of 
woods, for the reason that the long, hot days there 
would cause too rapid an evaporation from the 
foliage of the vines, and enfeeble, if not kill them. 
In the limited space of the Home Acre one can 
use only such land as he has, and plant where he 
must ; but if the favorable exposures indicated ex- 
ist, it would be well to make the most of them. 
I can mention, however, as encouragement to 
many, that I saw, last tail, splendid grapes growing 
on perfectly level and sandy soil in New Jersey. 

A low-lying, heavy, tenacious clay is undoubt- 
edly the worst ground in which to plant a vine; 
and yet by thorough drainage, a liberal admixture 
of sand, and light fertilizers, it can be made to 
produce good grapes of some varieties. A light 
sandy soil, if enriched abundantly with well- 
decayed vegetable and barn-yard manures, gives 
wider scope in choice of kinds; while on the 
ideal well-drained sandy loam that we have de- 
scribed, any out-door grape can be planted hope- 
fully if the garden is sufficiently removed from 
the sea-board. 

As a general truth it may be stated that any 
land in a condition to produce a fine crop of 
corn and potatoes is ready for the vine. This 
would be true of the entire garden if the sug- 
gestions heretofore made have been carried out. 



THE GARDEN. 77 

Therefore the borders which have been* named 
are ready to receive the vines, which may be 
planted in either spring or fall. I prefer the fall 
season for several reasons. The ground is usually 
drier then, and crumbles more finely ; the young 
vine becomes well established and settled in its 
place by spring, and even forms new roots before 
the growing season begins, and in eight cases out 
of ten makes a stronger growth than follows spring 
planting; it is work accomplished when there is 
usually the greatest leisure. If the ground is 
ready in early spring, I should advise no delay. 
A year's growth is gained by setting out the 
vines at once. As a rule I do not advise late 
spring planting, — that is, after the buds have 
started on the young vines. They may live, but 
usually they scarcely do more, the first year. 

In ordering from a nursery I should ask for 
vigorous, well-rooted two-year-old vines, and I 
should be almost as well contented with first-class 
one-year-olds. If any one should advertise " extra 
large, strong vines, ready to bear at once," I 
should have nothing to do with him. That 's a 
nursery trick to get rid of old stock. The first 
year after the shock of removal a vine should not 
be permitted to bear at all ; and a young vigorous 
vine is worth a dozen old stunted ones. 

Having procured the vines, keep them in a 



78 THE HOME ACRE. 

cool, moist place until ready to plant. Never per- 
mit the roots to become dry ; and if some of them 
are long and naked, shorten them to two feet, so 
as to cause them to throw out side fibrous roots, 
which are the true feeders. Excavate holes of 
ample size, so that all the roots may be spread 
out naturally. If you have reason to think the 
ground is not very good, two or three quarts of 
fine bone-dust thoroughly mixed with the soil that 
is placed on and about the roots will give a fine 
send-off. Usually a good mulch of any kind of 
barn-yard manure placed on the stirface after 
planting will answer all purposes. Before filling 
in the hole over the roots, place beside the vine a 
stout stake six or seven feet high. This will be 
all the support required the first year. Cut back 
the young vine to three buds, and after they get 
well started, let but one grow. If the planting is 
done in the fall, mound the earth up over the little 
vine at the approach of winter, so as to cover it at 
least six inches below the surface. In spring 
uncover again as soon as hard frosts are over, — 
say early April in our latitude. Slow-growing vari- 
eties, like the Delaware, may be set out six feet 
apart ; strong growers, like the Concord, eight feet. 
Vines cannot be expected to thrive under the shade 
of trees, or to fight an unequal battle in ground 
filled with the roots of other plants. 



THE GARDEN. 79 

Vines may be set out not only in the garden 
borders, but also in almost any place where their 
roots will not be interfered with, and where their 
foliage will receive plenty of light and air. How 
well I remember the old Isabella vines that clam- 
bered on a trellis over the kitchen door at my 
childhood's home ! In this sunny exposure, and 
in the reflected heat of the building, the clusters 
were always the sweetest and earliest ripe. A 
ton of grapes may be secured annually by erect- 
ing trellises against the sides of buildings, walls, 
and poultry yard, while at the same time the 
screening vines furnish grateful shade and no 
small degree of beauty. With a little petting, 
such scattered vines are often enormously pro- 
ductive. An occasional pail of soap-suds gives 
them a drink which eventually flushes the thickly 
hanging clusters with exquisite color. People 
should dismiss from their minds the usual method 
of European cultivation, wherein the vines are 
tied to short stakes, and made to produce their 
fruit near the ground. This method can be em- 
ployed if we find pleasure in the experiment. At 
Mr. Fuller's place I saw fine examples of it. 
Stubby vines with stems thick as one's wrist rose 
about three feet from the ground, then branched 
off on every side, like an umbrella, with loads of 
fruit. Only one supporting stake was required. 



8o THE HOME ACRE. 

This method evidently is not adapted to our 
climate and species of grape, since in that case 
plenty of keen, practical fruit-growers would have 
adopted it. I am glad this is true, for the vine- 
clad hills of France do not present half so pleasing 
a spectacle as an American cornfield. The vine is 
beautiful when grown as a vine, and not as a stub ; 
and well-trained, well-fed vines on the Home Acre 
can be developed to almost any length required, 
shading and hiding with greenery every unsightly 
object, and hanging their finest clusters far beyond 
the reach of the predatory small boy. 

We may now consider the vines planted and 
growing vigorously, as they will in most instances 
if they have been prepared for and planted accord- 
ing to the suggestions already given. Now begins 
the process of guiding and assisting Nature. Left 
to herself, she will give a superabundance of vine, 
with sufficient fruit for purposes of propagation 
and feeding the birds. Our object is to obtain 
the maximum of fruit from a minimum of vine. 
The little plant, even though grown from a single 
bud, will sprawl all over everything near it in 
three or four years, if unchecked. Pruning may 
begin even before midsummer of the first year. 
The single green shoot will by this time begin to 
produce what are termed '^ laterals." The careful 
cultivator who wishes to throw all the strength 



THE GARDEN. 8 1 

and growth into the main shoot will pinch these 
laterals back as soon as they form one leaf. Each 
lateral will start again from the axil of the leaf 
that has been left, and having formed another leaf, 
should again be cut off. By repeating this pro- 
cess during the growing season you have a strong 
single cane by fall, reaching probably beyond the 
top of the supporting stake. In our latitude I 
advise that this single cane — that is, the vine — be 
cut back to within fifteen inches of the surface 
when the leaves have fallen and the wood has well- 
ripened, — say about the middle of November, — 
and that the part left be bent over and covered with 
earth. "When I say " bent over," I do not mean at 
right angles, so as to admit of the possibility of 
its being broken, but gently and judiciously. I 
cover with earth all my vines, except the Concords 
and Isabellas, just before hard freezing weather; 
and even these two hardy kinds I weight down 
close to the ground. I have never failed to secure 
a crop from vines so treated. Two men will pro- 
tect over a hundred vines in a day. 

In early April the young vine is uncovered again ; 
and now the two uppermost buds are allowed to 
grow and form two strong canes, instead of one, 
and on this new growth four or five clusters of 
grapes may be permitted to mature if the vine is 
vigorous. If it is feeble, take off all the fruit, and 

6 



82 THE HOME ACRE. 

Stimulate the vine into greater vigor. Our aim is 
not to obtain half a dozen inferior clusters as soon 
as possible, but to produce a vine that will eventu- 
ally almost supply a family by itself. If several 
varieties have been planted, some will be found 
going ahead rampantly; others will exhibit a 
feebler growth, which can be hastened and greatly 
increased by enriching the surface of the soil 
around them, and by a pail of soap-suds now and 
then in May or June, — but not later, unless there 
should be a severe drought. There should be no 
effort to produce much growth during the latter 
part of the summer and early autumn, for then 
both the wood and roots will be immature and 
unripened when frost begins, and thus the vine 
receive injury. For this reason it is usually best 
to apply fertilizers to vines in the fall ; for if given 
in the spring, a late, unhealthful growth is often 
produced. Throughout all subsequent years ma- 
nure must be applied judiciously. You may tell 
the hired man to top-dress the ground about the 
vines, and he will probably treat all alike ; a vine 
that is already growing so strongly that it can 
scarcely be kept within bounds will receive as 
much as one that is slow and feeble in its develop- 
ment. This is worse than waste. Each vine 
should be treated in accordance with its condition 
and habit of growth. What would be thought of 



THE GARDEN. 83 

a physician who ordered a tonic for an entire 
family, giving as much to one who might need 
depleting, as to another who, as country people 
say, was *' puny and ailen " ? With even an assort- 
ment of half a dozen varieties we shall find after 
the first good start that some need a curb, and 
others a spur. 

Stakes will answer as supports to the vines 
during the first and second seasons ; but thereafter 
trellises or arbors are needed. The latter will 
probably be employed over the central walk of 
the garden, and may be constructed after several 
simple and pretty designs, which I leave to the 
taste of the reader. If vines are planted about 
buildings, fences, etc., trellises may be made of 
anything preferred, — of galvanized wire, slats, or 
rustic poles fastened to strong, durable supports. 
If vines are to be trained scientifically in the open 
garden, I should recommend the trellises figured 
on pages 120 and 142 of Mr. Fuller's work, " The 
Grape Culturist." These, beyond anything I have 
seen, appear the best adapted for the following 
out of a careful system of pruning and training. 
Such a system Mr. Fuller has thoroughly and 
lucidly explained in the above-named book. 

Unless the reader has had experience, or is will- 
ing to give time for the mastery of this subject, 
I should advise that he employ an experienced 



84 THE HOME ACRE. 

gardener to prune his vines after the second year. 
It is a brief task, but a great deal depends upon it. 
In selecting a man for the work I should require 
something more than exaggerated and personal 
assurances. In every village there are terrible 
butchers of vines and fruit-trees, who have some 
crude system of their own. They are as ignorant 
of the true science of the subject as a quack doc- 
tor of medicine, and, like the dispenser of nostrums, 
they claim to be infallible. Skilful pruning and 
training is really a fine art, which cannot be learned 
in a day or a year. It is like a surgical operation, 
requiring but little time, yet representing much 
acquired skill and experience. In almost every 
locality there are trustworthy, intelligent gardeners, 
who will do this work for a small sum until the pro- 
prietor has learned the art himself, if so inclined. 
I should also employ the same man in spring to 
tie up the vines and train them. 

If one is not ambitious to secure the best results 
attainable, he can soon learn to perform both the 
tasks well enough to obtain fairly good fruit in 
abundance. It should be our constant aim not to 
permit long, naked reaches of wood in one part 
of the vine, and great smothering bunches of fruit 
and foliage in another part. Of course the roots, 
stem, and leading arms should be kept free from 
useless shoots and sprouts ; but having reached 



THE GARDEN. 85 

the trellis, the vine should be made to distribute 
bearing fruit-spurs evenly over it. Much can be 
learned about pruning from books and by watch- 
ing an expert gardener while giving the annual 
pruning; but the true science of trimming a vine 
is best acquired by watching buds develop, by 
noting what they will do, where they go, and how 
much space they will take up in a single summer. 
In this way one will eventually realize how much 
is wrapped up in the insignificant little buds, and 
how great the folly of leaving too many on the 
vine. 

In my next chapter I shall treat briefly of the 
propagation of the grape, its insect enemies, 
diseases, etc. ; and also of some other fruits. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 

HE who proposes to plant grape-vines will 
scarcely fail to take the sensible course of 
inspecting the varieties already producing fruit in 
his locality. From causes often too obscure to be 
learned with certainty, excellent kinds will prove 
to be well adapted to one locality, and fail in 
others. If, therefore, when calling on a neighbor 
during August, September, or October, we are 
shown a vine producing fruit abundantly that is 
suited to our taste, a vine also which manifests 
unmistakable vigor, we may be reasonably sure 
that it belongs to a variety which we should have, 
especially if it be growing in a soil and exposure 
somewhat similar to our garden plot. A neighbor 
worthy of the name will be glad to give us a few 
cuttings from his vine at the time of its annual 
pruning ; and with very little trouble we also may 
soon possess the desired variety. When the vine 
is trimmed, either make yourself or have your 
friend make a few cuttings of sound wood from 
that season's f^rowth. About eight inches is a good 



88 THE HOME ACRE. 

length for these vine-sHps, and they should con- 
tain at least two buds. Let each slip be cut off 
smoothly just under the lowest bud, and extend 
an inch or two above the uppermost bud. If these 
cuttings are obtained in November or December, 
they may be put into a little box with some of the 
moist soil of the garden, and buried in the ground 
below the usual frost-line, — say a foot or eighteen 
inches in our latitude. The simple object is to 
keep them in a cool, even temperature, but not a 
frosty one. Early in April dig up the box, open 
a trench in a moist but not wet part of the garden, 
and insert the cuttings perpendicularly in the soil, 
so that the upper bud is covered barely one inch. 
In filling up the^rench, press the soil carefully yet 
firmly about the cuttings, and spread over the sur- 
face just about them a little fine manure. The 
cuttings should be a foot apart from each other in 
the row. Do not let the ground become dry about 
them at any time during the summer. By fall 
these cuttings will probably have thrown out an 
abundance of roots, and have made from two to 
three feet of vine. In this case they can be taken 
up and set out where they are to fruit. Possibly 
but one or two of them have started vigorously. 
The backward ones had better be left to grow 
another year in the cutting bed. Probably we shall 
not wish to cultivate more than one or two vines 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 89 

of the variety ; but it is just as easy to start several 
cuttings as one, and by this course we guard against 
failure, and are able to select the most vigorous 
plant for our garden. By taking good care of the 
others we soon derive one of the best pleasures 
which our acre can afford, — that of giving to a 
friend something which will enhance the produc- 
tiveness of his acre, and add to his enjoyment for 
years to come. 

Not only on our neighbor's grounds, but also on 
our own we shall discover that some varieties are 
unusually vigorous, productive, and well-adapted 
to our locality ; and we may very naturally wish to 
have more vines of the same sort, especially if the 
fruit is to our taste. We can either increase this 
kind by cuttings, as has been described, or we can 
layer part of the vine that has won our approval 
by well-doing. I shall take the latter course with 
several dehcious varieties in my vineyard. Some 
kinds of grapes do not root readily as cuttings, but 
there is little chance of failure in layering. This 
process is simply the laying down of a branch of a 
vine in early spring, and covering it lightly with 
soil, so that some buds will be beneath the surface, 
and others just at or a little above it. Those 
beneath y^l form roots, the others shoots which 
by fall should be good vines for planting. Every 
bud that can reach the air and light will start 



90 THE HOME ACRE. 

upward, and thus there may be a thick growth of 
incipient vines that will crowd and enfeeble each 
other. The probabilities are that only two or three 
new vines are wanted ; therefore all the others 
should be rubbed off at the start, so that the 
strength of the parent plant and of the new roots 
that are forming may go into those few shoots de- 
signed to become eventually a part of our vine- 
yard. If we wish only one vine, then but one bud 
should grow from the layer ; if two vines, then two 
buds. The fewer buds that are permitted to grow, 
the stronger vines they make. 

It must be remembered that this layer, for the 
greater part of the growing season, is drawing its 
sustenance from the parent plant, to which it is still 
attached. Therefore the other branches of this 
vine thus called upon for unusual effort should be 
permitted to fruit but sparingly. We should not 
injure and enfeeble the original vine in order to get 
others like it. For this reason we advise that no 
more buds be permitted to grow from the layer 
than we actually need ourselves. To injure a good 
vine and deprive ourselves of fruit that we may 
have plants to give away, is to love one's neighbor 
better than one's self — a thing permitted, but not 
required. When our vines are pruned, we can 
make as many cuttings as we choose, either to 
sell or give away. 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 9 1 

The ground in which a layer is placed should be 
very rich, and its surface round the young grow- 
ing vines always kept moist and free from weeds. 
In the autumn, after the 1-eaves have fallen and the 
wood is ripe and hard, cut off the layered branch 
close to the vine, and with a garden-fork gently 
and carefully lift it, with all its roots and young 
vines attached, out of the soil. First cut the young 
vines back to three or four buds, then separate them 
from the branch from which they grew, being sure 
to give each plant plenty of roots, and the roots back 
of the point from which it grew ; that is, those roots 
nearest the parent plant from which the branch 
was layered. All the old wood of the branch that 
is naked, free of roots, should be cut off. The 
young shoots thus separated are now independent 
vines, and may be set out at once where they 
are to fruit. If you have a variety that does not 
do well, or that you do not like, dig it out, enrich 
the soil, and put one of your favorites in its place. 

We will now consider briefly the diseases and 
insect enemies of the grape. A vine may be 
doomed to ill-health from its very situation. Mr. 
Hussman, a grape-culturist of great experience 
and wide observation, writes : " Those localities 
may generally be considered safe for the grape in 
which there are no miasmatic influences. Where 
malaria and fevers prevail, there is no safety for 



g2 THE HOME ACRE. 

the crop, as the vine seems to be as susceptible to 
such influences as human beings." 

Taking this statement Hterally, we may well ask, 
Where, then, can grapes be grown? According to 
physicians, malaria has become one of the most 
generally diffused products of the country. When 
a man asserts that it is not in his locality, we feel 
sure that if pressed he will admit that it is '' round 
the corner." Country populations still survive, 
however, and so does grape-culture. Yet there 
are low-lying regions which from defective drain- 
age are distinctively and, it would almost seem, 
hopelessly malarial. In such localities but few 
varieties of the vine will thrive. The people who 
are compelled to live there, or who choose to do 
so, should experiment until they obtain varieties 
so hardy and vigorous that they will triumph over 
everything. The best course with grape-diseases 
is not to have them ; in other words, to recognize 
the fact at once that certain varieties of the grape 
will not thrive and be productive of good fruit un- 
less the soil and climate suit them. The proprietor 
of the Home Acre can usually learn by a little in- 
quiry or observation whether grapes thrive in his 
locality. If there is much complaint of mildew, 
grape-rot, and general feebleness of growth, he 
should seek to plant only the most hardy and 
vigorous kinds. 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 93 

As I have said before, our cultivated grapes are 
derived from several native species found growing 
wild, and some now valued highly for wine-making 
are nothing but wild grapes domesticated ; as, for 
instance, Norton's Virginia, belonging to the cesti- 
valis class. The original plant of this variety was 
found growing upon an island in the Potomac by 
Dr. Norton, of Virginia. 

The species from which the greatest number of 
well-known grapes is obtained is the Vitis labnisca, 
the common wild or fox grape, found growing in 
woods and thickets, usually where the ground is 
moist, from Canada to the Gulf. The dark purple 
berries, averaging about three quarters of an inch 
in diameter, ripen in September, and they contain 
a tough, musky pulp. Yet this " slip of wilderness " 
is the parent of the refined Catawba, the delicious 
Brighton, and the magnificent white grape Lady 
Washington, — indeed, of all the black, red, and 
white grapes with which most people are familiar. 
Our earliest grapes, which ripen in August, as well 
as some of the latest, like the Isabella, come from 
the labntsca species. It is said that the labrusca 
class will not thrive in the extreme South ; and with 
the exception of the high mountain slopes, this 
appears reasonable to the student of the vine. It 
is said that but few of this class will endure the 
long hot summers of France. But there are great 



94 THE HOME ACRE. 

dififerences among the varieties derived from this 
native species. For example, the Concord thrives 
almost anywhere, while even here upon the Hud- 
son we can scarcely grow the Catawba with cer- 
tainty. It is so good a grape, however, that I 
persist in making the effort, with varying success ; 
but I should not recommend it, or many of its 
class, for those localities not specially suited to 
the grape. 

I will now name a few varieties which have proved 
to be, or promise to be, the most thrifty and pro- 
ductive wherever grapes can be grown at all. The 
labrusca class : Black — Concord, Wilder, Worden, 
Amenia, Early Canada, Telegraph or Christine, 
Moore's Early. Red — Wyoming, Goethe, Lind- 
ley, Beauty, Brighton, Perkins (pale red), and 
Agawam. White — Rebecca, Martha, Allen's Hy- 
brid, Lady Pocklington, Prentiss, Lady Washing- 
ton. These are all fine grapes, and they have 
succeeded throughout wide areas of country. Any 
and all are well worth a trial ; but if the grower finds 
that some of them are weak and diseased in his 
grounds, I should advise that he root them out 
and replace them with those Which thrive. TLj 
Niagara is highly praised, and may make good all 
that is claimed for it. 

Of the cestivalis class I can recommend the Cyn- 
thiana and the Herbemont, or Warren, for the 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 95 

extreme South. Both of them are black. There 
are new varieties of this vigorous species which 
promise well. 

The cordifolia species promises to furnish some 
fine, hardy, and productive grapes, of which the 
Amber is an example. The Elvira, a pale yellow 
grape, is highly praised by Mr. Hussman. Al- 
though the Bacchus is distinctively a wine grape, 
I have already said that its flavor, when fully ripe, 
was agreeable to me. The only difficulty in grow- 
ing it is to keep the ground poor, and use the 
pruning-knife freely. 

I have enlarged on this point, for I wish to direct 
the mind of the reader to the fact that there are 
many very hardy grapes. I congratulate those 
who, with the taste of a connoisseur, have merely 
to sample until they find just the varieties that 
suit them, and then to plant these kinds in their 
genial soil and favored locality. 

At the same time I should like to prevent others 
from worrying along with unsatisfactory varieties, 
or from reaching the conclusion that they cannot 
grow grapes in their region or garden. Let them 
rather admit that they cannot raise some kinds, 
but may others. If a variety was persistently 
diseased, feeble, and unproductive under good 
treatment, I should root it out rather than con- 
tinue to nurse and coddle it. 



96 THE HOME ACRE. 

When mildew and grape-rot first appear, the 
evil can often be remedied in part by dusting the 
vines with sulphur, and continuing the process 
until the disease is cured, if it ever is. I have 
never had occasion to do this, and will not do it. 
A variety that often requires such nursing in this 
favored locality should be discarded. 

There is one kind of disease, or feebleness 
rather, to which we are subject everywhere, and 
from which few varieties are exempt. It is the 
same kind of weakness which would be developed 
in a fine sound horse if we drove him until he 
dropped down every time we took him out. Cul- 
tivated vines are so far removed from their natural 
conditions that they will often bear themselves to 
death, like a peach-tree. To permit this is a true 
instance of avarice overreaching itself; or the evil 
may result from ignorance or neglect. Close pru- 
ning in autumn and thinning out the crowding 
clusters soon after they have formed is the remedy. 
If a vine had been so enfeebled, I should cut it 
back rigorously, feed it well, and permit it to bear 
very little fruit, if any, for a year. 

Of insect enemies we have the phylloxera of 
bad eminence, which has so dismayed Europe. 
The man who could discover and patent an 
adequate remedy in France might soon rival a 
Rothschild in his wealth. The remedy abroad 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 97 

is also ours, — to plant varieties which are phyl- 
loxera-proof, or nearly so. Fortunately we have 
many which defy this pestiferous little root-louse, 
and European vine-growers have been importing 
them by the million. They are still used chiefly 
as stocks on which to graft varieties of the vmifera 
species. In California, grapes of the vmifera or 
European species are generally cultivated ; but the 
phylloxera is at its destructive work among them. 
The wine-grapes of the future throughout the 
world may be developed from the hardy cBstivalis 
and cordifolia classes. In many localities, even 
in this new land, varieties like the Delaware suc- 
cumb to this scourge of foreign vineyards. 

The aphis, or plant-louse, sometimes attacks 
the young, tender shoots of the vine. The moment 
they appear, take off the shoot, and crush it on 
a board with the foot. Leaf-rollers, the grape-vine 
sphinx, and caterpillars in general must be caught 
by hand and killed. Usually they are not very 
numerous. The horrid little rose-chafers or rose- 
bugs are sometimes very destructive. Our best 
course is to take a basin of water and jar them off 
into it, — they fall readily, — and then scald them 
to death. We may discover lady-bugs — small 
red or yellow and black beetles — among our 
vines, and many persons, I fear, will destroy them 
with the rest. We should take off our hats to 

7 



98 THE HOME ACRE. 

them and wish them godspeed. In their destruc- 
tion of aphides and thrips they are among our 
best friends. The camel-cricket is another active 
destroyer of injurious insects. Why do not our 
schools teach a little practical natural history? 
Once, when walking in the Catskills, I saw the 
burly driver of a stage-load of ladies bound out 
of his vehicle to kill a garter-snake, the pallid 
women looking on, meanwhile, as if the earth 
was being rid of some terrible and venomous thing. 
They ought to have known that the poor little 
reptile was as harmless as one of their own garters, 
and quite as useful in its way. Every country 
boy and girl should be taught to recognize all 
our helpers in our incessant fight with insect ene- 
mies, — a fight which must be maintained with 
more organized vigor and intelligence than at 
present, if horticulture is ever to reach its best 
development. 

Wasps and hornets often swarm about the sweet 
and early ripe varieties. A wide-mouthed bottle 
partially filled with molasses and water will entrap 
and drown great numbers of these ugly customers. 
Some of our favorite birds try our patience not a 
little. During the early summer I never wearied 
of watching the musical orioles flashing with their 
bright hues in and out of the foliage about the 
house ; but when the early grapes were ripe, they 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 99 

took pay for their music with the sang-froid of 
a favorite prima donna. On one occasion I saw 
three or four ahght on a Diana vine, and in five 
minutes they had spoiled a dozen clusters. If 
they would only take a bunch and eat it up clean, 
one would readily share with them, for there would 
be enough for all ; but the dainty little epicures 
puncture an indefinite number of berries, merely 
taking a sip from each. Then the wasps and bees 
come along and finish the clusters. The cardinal, 
cat-bird, and'*our unrivalled songster the wood- 
thrush, all help themselves in the same wasteful 
fashion. One can't shoot wood-thrushes. We 
should almost as soon think of killing off our 
Nilssons, Nevadas, and Carys. The only thing to 
do is to protect the clusters ; and this can be ac- 
complished in several ways. The most expeditious 
and satisfactory method is to cover the vines of 
early grapes with cheap mosquito netting. An- 
other method is to make little bags of this netting 
and enclose each cluster. Last fall, two of my 
children tied up many hundreds of clusters in little 
paper bags, which can be procured at wholesale 
for a trifling sum. The two lower corners of the 
paper bags should be clipped off to permit the 
rain to pass freely through them. Clusters ripen 
better, last longer on the vine, and acquire a more 
exquisite bloom and flavor in this retirement than 



lOO THE HOME ACRE. 

if exposed to light as well as to birds and wasps. 
Not the fruit but the foliage of the grape-vine 
needs the sun. 

Few of the early grapes will keep long after 
being taken from the vine ; but some of the later 
ones can be preserved well into the winter by 
putting them in small boxes and storing them 
where the temperature is cool, even, and dry. 
Some of the wine-grapes, like Norton's Virginia, 
will keep under these conditions almost like winter 
apples. One October day I took a stone pot of 
the largest size and put in first a layer of Isabella 
grapes, then a double thickness of straw paper, 
then alternate layers of grapes and paper, until the 
pot was full. A cloth was next pasted over the 
stone cover, so as to make the pot water-tight. 
The pot was then buried on a dry knoll below the 
reach of frost, and dug up again on New- Year's 
Day. The grapes looked and tasted as if they 
had just been picked from the vine. 

For the mysteries of hybridizing and raising 
new seedlings, grafting, hot-house and cold grapery 
culture, the reader must look in more extended 
works than this, and to writers who have had 
experience in these matters. 

We shall next consider three fruits which upon 
the Home Acre may be regarded as forming a 
natural group, — peaches, plums, and raspberries. 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. lOI 

If any one expresses surprise that the last-named 
fruit should be given this relationship, I have 
merely to reply that the raspberry thrives in the 
partial shade produced by such small trees as the 
peach and plum. Where there is need of economy 
of space it is well to take advantage of this fact, 
for but few products of the garden give any sat- 
isfaction when contending with roots below and 
shade above. 

We have taken it for granted that some grape- 
vines would be planted in the two borders extend- 
ing through the centre of the garden, also that 
there would be spaces left which might be filled 
with peach and plum trees and small flowering 
shrubs. If there is to be a good-sized poultry- 
yard upon the acre, we should advise that plums 
be planted in that ; but we will speak of this fruit 
later, and now give our attention to that fruit which 
to the taste of many is unrivalled, — the peach. 

With the exception of the strawberry, it is 
perhaps the only fruit for which I prefer spring 
planting. At the same time, I should not hesitate 
to set out the trees in autumn. The ground should 
be good, but not too highly fertilized. I prefer 
young trees but one year old from the bud. If 
set out in the fall, I should mound up the earth 
eighteen inches about them, to protect the roots 
and stem, and to keep the tree firmly in the soil. 



102 THE HOME ACRE. 

With this precaution, I am not sure but that fall 
planting has the greater advantage, except when 
the climate is very severe and subject to great 
alternations. Plant with the same care and on the 
same principles which have been already described. 
If a careful system of pruning is to be adopted, 
the trees may be set out twelve feet apart; but if 
they are to be left to grow at will, which I regret 
to say is the usual practice, they should be planted 
fifteen feet from each other. 

There are many good reasons why the com- 
mon orchard culture of the peach should not be 
adopted in the garden. There is no fruit more 
neglected and ill-treated than the beautiful and 
delicious peach. The trees are very cheap, usually 
costing but a few cents each ; they are. bought by 
the thousand from careless dealers, planted with 
scarcely the attention given to a cabbage-plant, 
and too often allowed to bear themselves to death. 
The land, trees, and cultivation cost so little that 
one good crop is expected to remunerate for all 
outlay. If more crops are obtained, there is so 
much clear gain. Under this slovenly treatment 
there is, of course, rapid deterioration in the stam- 
ina of the peach. Pits and buds are taken from 
enfeebled trees for the purpose of propagation, 
and so tendencies to disease are perpetuated and 
enhanced. Little wonder that the fatal malady, 



THE VINEYARD AXD ORCHARD. 103 

the *' yellows," has blighted so many hopes! I 
honestly believe that millions of trees have been 
sold in which this disease existed from the bud. 
If fine peaches were bred and propagated with 
something of the same care that is bestowed on 
blooded stock, the results would soon be propor- 
tionate. Gardeners abroad often give more care to 
one tree than hundreds receive here. Because the 
peach has grown so easily in our climate, we have 
imposed on its good-nature beyond the limits of 
endurance, and consequently it is not easy to get 
sound, healthful trees that will bear year after year 
under the best of treatment, as they did with our 
fathers with no care at all. I should look to men 
who had made a reputation for sending out sound, 
healthful stock grown under their own eyes from 
pits and wood which they know to be free from 
disease. Do not try to save a few pennies on the 
first cost of trees, for the probabilities are that 
such economy will result in little more than the 
" yellows." 

In large orchards, cultivated by horse-power, the 
stems of the trees are usually from four to six feet 
high ; but in the garden this length of stem is not 
necessary, and the trees can be grown as dwarf 
standards, with stems beginning to branch two feet 
from the ground. A little study of the habit of 
growth in the peach will show that, to obtain the 



104 THE HOME ACRE. 

best results, the pruning-shears are almost as essen- 
tial as in the -case of the grape-vine. More than 
in any other fruit-tree, the sap tends strongly to- 
wards the ends of the shoots. Left to Nature, only 
the terminal buds of these will grow from year to 
year; the other buds lower down on the shoots 
fail and drop off. Thus we soon have long naked 
reaches of unproductive wood, or sucker-like 
sprouts starting from the bark, which are worse 
than. useless. Our first aim should be to form a 
round, open, symmetrical head, shortening in the 
shoots at least one half each year, and cutting out 
crossing and interlacing branches. For instance, if 
we decide to grow our trees as dwarf standards, 
we shall cut back the stems at a point two feet from . 
the ground the first spring after planting, and let 
but three buds grow, to make the first three or 
leading branches. The following spring we shall 
cut back the shoots that have formed, so as to 
make six leading branches. Thereafter we shall 
continue to cut out and back so as to maintain an 
open head for the free circulation of air and 
light. 

To learn the importance of rigorous and careful 
pruning, observe the shoots of a vigorous peach- 
tree, say three or four years old. These slioots or 
sprays are long and slender, lined with fruit-buds. 
You will often find two fruit-buds together, with a 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. IO5 

leaf-bud between them. If the fruit-buds have 
been uninjured by the winter, they will nearly all 
form peaches, far more than the slender spray can 
support or mature. The sap will tend to give the 
most support to all growth at the end of the spray 
or branch. The probable result will be that you 
will have a score, more or less, of peaches that are 
little beyond skin and stones. By midsummer the 
brittle sprays will break, or the limbs split down at 
the crotches. You may have myriads of peaches, 
but none fit for market or table. Thousands of 
baskets are sent to New York annually that do 
not pay the expenses of freight, commission, etc. ; 
while the orchards from which they come are prac- 
tically ruined. I had two small trees from which, 
one autumn, I sold ten dollars' worth of fruit. 
They yielded more profit than is often obtained 
from a hundred trees. 

Now, in the light of these facts, realize the ad- 
vantages secured by cutting back the shoots or 
sprays so as to leave but three or four fruit-buds 
on each. The tree can probably mature these 
buds into large, beautiful peaches, and still main- 
tain its vigor. By this shortening-in process you 
have less tree, but more fruit. The growth is di- 
rected and kept within proper limits, and the tree 
preserved for future usefulness. Thus the peach- 
trees of the garden will not only furnish some of 



I06 THE HOME ACRE. 

the most delicious morsels of the year, but also a 
very agreeable and light phase of labor. They 
can be made pets which will amply repay all kind- 
ness; and the attentions they most appreciate, 
strange to say, are cutting and pinching. The 
pruning-shears in March and early April can cut 
away forming burdens which could not be borne, 
and pinching back during the summer can main- 
tain beauty and symmetry in growth. When the 
proprietor of the Home Acre has learned from ex- 
perience to do this work judiciously, his trees, like 
the grape-vines, will afford many hours of agree- 
able and healthful recreation. If he regards it as 
labor, one great, melting, luscious peach will repay 
him. A small apple, pear, or strawberry usually 
has the flavor of a large one ; but a peach to be 
had in perfection must be fully matured to its limit 
of growth on a healthful tree. 

Let no one imagine that the shortening in of 
shoots recommended consists of cutting the young 
sprays evenly all round the tree as one would shear 
a hedge. It more nearly resembles the pruning of 
the vine ; for the peach, like the vine, bears its fruit 
only on the young wood of the previous summer's 
growth. The aim should be to have this young 
bearing wood distributed evenly over the tree, as 
should be true of a grape-vine. When the trees 
are kept low, as dwarf standards, the fruit is more 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. 10/ 

within reach, and less liable to be blown off by 
high winds. Gradually, however, if the trees prove 
healthful, they will get high enough up in the 
world. 

Notwithstanding the rigorous pruning recom- 
mended, the trees will often overload themselves ; 
and thinning out the young peaches when as large 
as hickory nuts is almost imperative if we would 
secure good fruit. Men of experience say that 
when a tree has set too much fruit, if two thirds of 
it are taken off while little, the remaining third 
will measure and weigh more than would the entire 
crop, and bring three times as much money. In 
flavor and beauty the gain will certainly be more 
than double. 

Throughout its entire growth and fruiting life 
the peach-tree needs good cultivation, and also a 
good but not over-stimulated soil. Well-decayed 
compost from the cow-stable is probably the best 
barn-yard fertilizer. Wood-ashes are peculiarly 
agreeable to the constitution of this tree, and tend 
to maintain it in health and bearing long after 
others not so treated are dead. I should advise 
that half a peck be worked in lightly every spring 
around each tree as far as the branches extend. 
When enriching the ground about a tree, never 
heap the fertilizer round the trunk, but spread 
it evenly from the stem outward as far as the 



loS THE HOME ACRE. 

branches reach, remembering that the head above 
is the measure of the root extension below. 
Air-slacked lime is also useful to the peach in 
small quantities ; and so, no doubt, would be a 
little salt from time to time. Bone-meal is highly 
recommended. 

Like other fruit-trees, the peach does not thrive 
on low, wet ground, and the fruit-buds are much 
more apt to be winter-killed in such localities. A 
light, warm soil is regarded as the most favorable. 

Of course we can grow this fruit on espaliers, as 
they do abroad ; but there are few localities where 
any advantage is to be derived from this course. 
In our latitude I much prefer cool northern expo- 
sures, for the reason that the fruit-buds are kept 
dormant during warm spells in winter, and so late 
in spring that they escape injury from frost. Al- 
ternate freezing and thawing is more harmful than 
steady cold. The buds are seldom safe, however, 
at any time when the mercury sinks ten or fifteen 
degrees below zero. 

As we have intimated, abuse of the peach-tree 
has developed a fatal disease, known as the "yel- 
lows." It manifests itself in yellow, sickly foliage, 
numerous and feeble sprouts along the larger limbs 
and trunk, and small, miserable fruit, ripening pre- 
maturely. I can almost taste the yellows in much 
of the fruit bought in market. Some regard the 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. IO9 

disease as very contagious ; others do not. It is 
best to be on the safe side. If a tree is affected 
generally, dig it out by the roots and burn it at 
once ; if only a branch shows evidence of the mal- 
ady, cut it off well back, and commit it to the 
flames. The only remedy is to propagate from 
trees in sound health and vigor. 

Like the apple, the peach-tree is everywhere 
subject to injury from a borer, named " exitiosay or 
the destructive." The eggs from which these little 
pests are hatched are laid by the moth during the 
summer upon the stem of the tree very near the 
root ; the grubs bore through the outer bark, and 
devour the inner bark and sap-wood. Fortunately 
they soon reveal their evil work by the castings, 
and by the gum which exudes from the hole by 
which they entered. They cannot do much harm, 
unless a tree is neglected ; in this case, however, 
they will soon enfeeble, and probably destroy it. 
When once within a tree, borers must be cut out 
with a sharp-pointed knife, carefully yet thorough- 
ly. The wounds from the knife may be severe, 
but the ceaseless gnawing of the grub is fatal. If 
the tree has been lacerated to some extent, a plas- 
ter of moistened clay or cow-manure makes a good 
salve. Keeping the borers out of the tree is far 
better than taking them out; and this can be 
effected by wrapping the stem at the ground — 



no THE HOME ACRE. 

two inches below the surface, and five above — with 
strong hardware or sheathing paper. If this is 
tied tightly about the tree, the moth cannot lay 
its eggs upon the stem. A neighbor of mine has 
used this protection not only on the peach, but also 
on the apple, with almost complete success. Of 
course the pests will try to find their way under it, 
and it would be well to take off the wrapper occa- 
sionally and examine the trees. The paper must 
also be renewed before it is so far decayed as to be 
valueless. It should be remembered also that the 
borer will attack the trees from the first year of 
life to the end. 

In order to insure an unfailing supply of this 
delicious fruit, I should advise that a few trees be 
set out every spring. The labor and expense are 
scarcely greater than that bestowed upon a cab- 
bage patch, and the reward is more satisfactory. 

For this latitude the following choice of varieties 
will prove, I think, a good one : Early Alexander, 
Early Rivers, Princess of Wales, Brandywine, Old 
Mixon Free, Stump the World, Picquet's Late, 
Crawford's Late, Mary's Choice, White P>ee Heath, 
Salway, and Lord Palmerston. 

If the soil of one's garden is a stiff, cold, adhe- 
sive clay, the peach would succeed much better 
budded or grafted on plum-stocks. Some of the 
finest fruit I have ever seen was from seedlings, 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. Ill 

the trees having been grown from pits of unusually- 
good peaches. While the autumn planting of pits 
lightly in the soil and permitting them to develop 
into bearing trees is a pleasing and often profitable 
amusement, there is no great probability that the 
result will be desirable. We hear of the occa- 
sional prizes won in this way, but not of the many 
failures. 

By easy transition we pass to the kindred fruit, 
the plum, which does not generally receive the 
attention it deserves. If one has a soil suited to it, 
— a heavy clay or loam, — it can usually be grown 
very easily. The fruit is so grateful to the taste 
and useful to the housekeeper that it should be 
given a fair trial, either in the garden borders or 
wherever a tree can be planted so as to secure 
plenty of light and air. The young trees may be 
one or two years old from the bud ; I should pre- 
fer the former, if vigorous. Never be induced to 
purchase old trees by promises of speedy fruit. 
It is quite possible you may never get any fruit at 
all from them worth mentioning. I should allow a 
space of from ten to fifteen feet between the trees 
when they are planted together, and I should cut 
them back so that they would begin to branch at 
two feet from the ground. Long, naked stems are 
subject to the gum-disease. 

In the place of general advice in regard to this 



112 THE HOME ACRE. 

fruit I shall give the experience of Mr. T. S. Force, 
of Newburgh, who exhibited seventy varieties at 
the last annual Orange County fair. 

His plum-orchard is a large poultry-yard, con- 
taining half an acre, of which the ground is a good 
loam, resting on a heavy clay subsoil. He bought 
trees but one year from the bud, set them out in 
autumn, and cut them back so that they began to 
form their heads at two feet from the ground. 
He prefers starting with strong young plants of 
this age, and he did not permit them to bear for 
the first three years, his primal aim being to de- 
velop a healthy, vigorous tree with a round, sym- 
metrical head. During this period the ground 
about them was kept mellow by good cultivation, 
and, being rich enough to start with, received no 
fertilizers. It is his belief that over-fertilization 
tends to cause the disease so well known as the 
*' black knot," which has destroyed many orchards 
in this vicinity. If the garden has been enriched 
as I have directed, the soil will probably need 
little, if anything, from the stables, and certainly 
will not if the trees are grown in a poultry-yard. 
During this growing and forming period Mr. 
Force gave careful attention to pruning. Budded 
trees are not even symmetrical growers, but tend to 
send up a few very* strong shoots that rob the rest 
of the tree of sustenance. Of course these must 



THE VINEYARD AND ORCHARD. II3 

be cut well back in early spring, or we have long, 
naked reaches of wood and a deformed tree. It is 
far better, however, not to let these rampant shoots 
grow to maturity, but to pinch them back in early 
summer, thus causing them to throw out side- 
branches. By summer pinching and rubbing off 
of tender shoots a tree can be made to grow in any 
shape we desire. When the trees receive no sum- 
mer pruning, Mr. Force advises that the branches 
be shortened in at least one half in the spring, 
while some shoots are cut back even more rigor- 
ously. At the age of four or five years, according 
to the vigor of the trees, he permits them to bear. 
Now cultivation ceases, and the ground is left to 
grow hard, but not weedy or grassy, beneath the 
boughs. Every spring, just as the blossoms are 
falling, he spreads evenly under the branches four 
quarts of salt. While the trees thrive and grow 
fruitful with this fertihzer, the curculio, or plum- 
weevil, does not appear to find it at all to its taste. 
As a result of his methods, Mr. Force has grown 
large and profitable crops, and his trees in the 
main are kept healthy and vigorous. His remedy 
for the black knot is to cut off and burn the small 
boughs and twigs .affected. If the disease appears 
in the side of a limb or in the stem, he cuts out all 
trace of it, and paints the wound with a wash of 
gum shellac and alcohol. 



114 THE HOME ACRE. 

Trees load so heavily that the plums rest against 
one another. You will often find in moist warm 
weather decaying specimens. These should be 
removed at once, that the infection may not 
spread. 

In cutting out the interfering boughs, do not 
take off the sharp-pointed spurs which are forming 
along the branches, for on these are slowly matur- 
ing the fruit-buds. In this case, as in others, the 
careful observer, after he has acquired a few sound 
principles of action to start with, is taught more 
by the tree itself than from any other source. 

Mr. Force recommends the following ten varie- 
ties, named in the order of ripening: Canada; 
Orleans, a red-cheeked plum ; McLaughHn, green- 
ish, with pink cheek; Bradshaw, large red, with 
lilac bloom; Smith's Orleans, purple ; Green Gage; 
Bleeker's Gage, golden yellow; Prune d'Agen, 
purple; Coe's Golden Drop; and Shropshire 
Damson for preserves. 

If we are restricted to very light soils, we shall 
probably have to grow some of the native varieties, 
of the Canada and Wild-Goose type. In regard 
to both this fruit and peaches we should be guided 
in our selection by information respecting varieties 
peculiarly suited to the region. 

The next chapter will treat of small fruits, be- 
ginning with the raspberry. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE RASPBERRY. 

THE wide and favorable consideration given to 
small fruits clearly marks one of the changes 
in the world's history. This change may seem 
trifling indeed to the dignified chroniclers of kings 
and queens and others of high descent, — great de- 
scent, it may be added, remembering the moral 
depths attained ; but to those who care for the 
welfare of the people, it is a mutation of no slight 
interest. I am glad to think, as has been shown 
in a recent novel, that Lucrezia Borgia was not so 
black as she has been painted ; yet in the early days 
of June and July, when strawberries and raspberries 
are ripening, I fancy that most of us can dismiss 
her and her kin from mind as we observe Nature's 
alchemy in our gardens. When we think of the 
luscious, health-imparting fruits which will grace 
millions of tables, and remember that until recent 
years they were conspicuous only by their absence, 
we may not slightingly estimate a great change for 
the better. Once these fruits were wildings which 
the vast majority of our forefathers shared sparingly 



Il6 THE HOME ACRE. 

with the birds. Often still, unless we are careful, 
our share will be small indeed ; for the unperverted 
taste of the birds discovered from the first what 
men have been so slow to learn, — that the ruby- 
like berries are the gems best worth seeking. The 
world is certainly progressing towards physical 
redemption when even the Irish laborer abridges 
his cabbage-patch for the sake of small fruits, — 
food which a dainty Ariel could not despise. 

We have said that raspberries thrive in partial 
shade ; and therefore some advice in regard to them 
naturally follows our consideration of trees. Be- 
cause the raspberry is not so exacting as are many 
other products of the garden, it does not follow 
that it should be marked out for neglect. As it is 
treated on many places, the only wonder is that 
even the bushes survive. Like many who try to 
do their best in adversity, it makes the most of 
what people term " a chance to get ahead." 

Morever, the raspberry is perhaps as often injured 
by mistaken kindness as by neglect. If we can im- 
agine it speaking for itself, it would say: '' It is not 
much that I want, but in the name of common-sense 
and nature give me just what I do want; then you 
may pick at me to your heart's content." 

The first need of the raspberry is a well-drained 
but not a very dry, light soil. Yet such is its 
adaptability that certain varieties can be grown 



THE RASPBERRY. II7 

on any land which will produce a burdock or a 
mullein-stalk. In fact, this question of variety 
chiefly determines our chances of success and the 
nature of our treatment of the fruit. The reader, 
at the. start, should be enabled to distinguish the 
three classes of raspberries grown in this country. 

As was true of grapes, our fathers first endeav- 
ored to supply their gardens from foreign nurseries, 
neglecting the wild species with which our woods 
and roadsides abounded. The raspberry of Europe 
{Rubns idcBus) has been developed, and in many in- 
stances enfeebled, by ages of cultivation. Never- 
theless, few other fruits have shown equal power to 
adapt themselves to our soil and climate, and we 
have obtained from foreign sources many valuable 
kinds, — as, for instance, the Antwerp, which for 
weeks together annually taxed the carrying power 
of Hudson River steamers. In quality these for- 
eign kinds have never been surpassed ; but almost 
invariably they have proved tender and fastidious, 
thriving well in some localities, and failing utterly 
(except under the most skilful care) in others. 
The frosts of the North killed them in winter, and 
Southern suns shrivelled their foliage in summer. 
Therefore they were not raspberries for the million, 
but for those who resided in favored regions, and 
were willing to bestow upon them much care and 
high culture. 



Il8 THE HOME ACRE. 

Eventually another process began, taking place 
either by chance or under the skilful manipulation 
of the gardener, — that of hybridizing, or cross- 
ing these foreign varieties with our hardier native 
species. The best results have been attained more 
frequently, I think, by chance ; that is, the bees, 
which get more honey from the raspberry than 
from most other plants, carried the pollen from a 
native flower to the blossom of the garden exotic. 
The seeds of the fruit eventually produced were 
endowed with characteristics of both the foreign and 
native strains. Occasionally these seeds fell where 
they had a chance to grow, and so produced a for- 
tuitous seedling plant which soon matured into a 
bearing bush, differing from both of its parents, 
and not infrequently surpassing both in good qual- 
ities. Some one horticulturally inclined having 
observed the unusually fine fruit on the chance 
plant, and believing that it is a good plan to help 
the fittest to survive, marked the bush, and in the 
autumn transferred it to his garden. It speedily 
propagated itself by suckers, or young sprouts 
from the roots, and he had plants to sell or give 
away. Such, I believe, was the history of the 
Cuthbert, — named after the gentleman who found 
it, and now probably the favorite raspberry of 
America. 

Thus fortuitously, or by the skill of the gardener, 



THE RASPBERRY. II9 

the foreign and our native species were crossed, 
and a new and hardier class of varieties obtained. 
The large size and richness in flavor of the Euro- 
pean berry has been bred into and combined with 
our smaller and more insipid indigenous fruit. By 
this process the area of successful raspberry cul- 
ture has been extended almost indefinitely. 

Within recent years a third step forward .has 
been taken. Some localities and soils were so 
.unsuited to the raspberry that no variety contain- 
ing even a small percentage of the foreign element 
could thrive. This fact led fruit-growers to give 
still closer attention to our native species. Wild 
bushes were found here and there which gave fruit 
of such good quality and in such large quantities 
that they were deemed well worthy of cultivation. 
Many of these wild specimens accepted cultivation 
gratefully, and showed such marked improvement 
that they were heralded over the land as of won- 
derful and surpassing value. Some of these pure, 
unmixed varieties of our native species (^Riibus 
strigosus) have obtained a wide celebrity ; as, for 
instance, the Brandywine, Highland Hardy, and, 
best of all, the Turner. It should be distinctly 
understood, however, that, with the exception of 
the last-named kind, these native varieties are de- 
cidedly inferior to most of the foreign berries and 
their hybrids or crosses, hke the Cuthbert and 



120 THE HOME ACRE. 

Marlboro. Thousands have been misled by their 
praise, and have planted them when they might 
just as easily have grown far better kinds. I sup- 
pose that many wealthy persons in the latitudes of 
New York and Boston have told their gardeners 
(or more probably were told by them) : " We do 
not wish any of those wild kinds. Brinckle's 
Orange, Franconia, and the Antwerp are good 
enough for us." So they should be, for they are 
the best; but they are all foreign varieties, and 
scarcely will live at all, much less be productive, 
in wide areas of the country. 

I trust that this preliminary discussion in regard 
to red raspberries will prepare the way for the 
advice to follow, and enable the proprietor of the 
Home Acre to act intelligently. Sensible men do 
not like to be told, *' You cannot do this, and must 
not do that," — in other words, to be met the 
moment they step into their gardens by the arbi- 
trary dictum of A, B, or C. They wish to unite 
with Nature in producing certain results. Under- 
standing her simple laws, they work hopefully, 
confidently; and they cannot be imposed upon 
by those who either wittingly or unwittingly give 
bad advice. Having explained the natural prin- 
ciples on which I base my directions, I can expect 
the reader to follow each step with the prospect of 
success and enjoyment much enhanced. 



THE RASPBERRY. 121 

The question first arising is, What shall we plant? 
As before, I shall give the selection of eminent 
authorities, then suggest to the reader the restric- 
tions under which he should make a choice for 
his own peculiar soil and climate. 

Dr. F. M. Hexamer, the well-known editor of a 
leading horticultural journal, is recognized through- 
out the land as having few, if any, superiors in re- 
cent and practical acquaintance with small fruits. 
The following is his selection : " Cuthbert, Turner, 
and Marlboro." The Hon. Marshall P. VVilder's 
choice : " Brinckle's Orange, Franconia, Cuthbert, 
Herstine, Shaffer." The Hon. Norman J. Colman, 
Commissioner of Agriculture : '' Turner, Marlboro, 
Cuthbert." P. J. Berckmans, of Georgia : " Cuth- 
bert, Hansel, Lost Rubies, Imperial Red." A. S. 
Fuller: "Turner, Cuthbert, Hansel." 

In analyzing this Hst we find three distinctly 
foreign kinds named : the Orange, Franconia, and 
Herstine. If the last is not wholly of foreign ori- 
gin, the element of our native species enters into it 
so slightly that it will not endure winters in our 
latitude, or the summer sun of the South. For 
excellence, however, it is unsurpassed. 

In the Cuthbert, Marlboro, and Lost Rubies we 
have hybrids of the foreign and our native species, 
forming the second class referred to ; in the Tur- 
ner and Hansel, examples of our native species 



122 THE HOME ACRE. 

unmixed. To each of these classes might be added 
a score of other varieties which have been more 
or less popular, but they would serve only to dis- 
tract the reader's attention. I have tested forty 
or fifty kinds side by side at one time, only to be 
shown that four or five varieties would answer all 
practical purposes. I can assure the reader, how- 
ever, that it will be scarcely possible to find a soil 
or climate where some of these approved sorts will 
not thrive abundantly and at slight outlay. 

Throughout southern New England, along the 
bank of the Hudson, and westward, almost any 
raspberry can be grown with proper treatment. 
There are exceptions, which are somewhat curious. 
For instance, the famous Hudson River Antwerp, 
which until within a very few years has been one 
of the great crops of the State, has never been 
grown successfully to any extent except on the 
west bank of the river, and within the limited area 
of Kingston on the north and Cornwall on the 
south. The Franconia, another foreign sort, has 
proved itself adapted to more extended conditions 
of soil and climate. 

I have grown successfully nearly every well- 
known raspberry, and perhaps I can best give the 
instruction I desire to convey by describing the 
methods finally adopted after many years of ob- 
servation, reading, and experience. I will speak 



THE RASPBERRY. 1 23 

of the class first named, belonging to the foreign 
species, of which I have tested many varieties. 
I expect to set out this year rows of Brinckle's 
Orange, Franconia, Hudson River Antwerp, and 
others. For this class I should make the ground 
very rich, deep, and mellow. I should prefer to set 
out the plants in the autumn, — from the middle 
of October to the tenth of November; if not then, 
in early spring — the earlier the better — while the 
buds are dormant. I should have the rows four 
feet apart; and if the plants were to be grown 
among the smaller fruit-trees, I should maintain a 
distance from them of at least seven feet. I should 
use only young plants, those of the previous sum- 
mer's growth, and set them in the ground about as 
deeply as they stood when taken up, — say three 
or four inches of earth above the point from which 
the roots branched. I should put two well-rooted 
plants in each hill, and this would make the hills 
four feet apart each way. By " hills " I do not 
mean elevations of ground. This should be kept 
level throughout all future cultivation. I should 
cut back the canes or stems of the plants to six 
inches. Thousands of plants are lost or put back 
in their growth by leaving two or three feet of the 
canes to grow the first year. Never do this. The 
little fruit gained thus prematurely always entails 
a hundred-fold of loss. Having set out the plants, 



124 THE HOME ACRE. 

I should next scatter over and about them one or 
two shovelfuls of old compost or decayed manure 
of some kind. If the plants had been set out in 
the fall, I should mound the earth over them be- 
fore freezing weather, so that there should be at 
least four inches of soil over the tops of the stems. 
This little mound of earth over the plants or hill 
would protect against all injury from frost. In the 
spring I should remove these mounds of earth so 
as to leave the ground perfectly level on all sides, 
and the shortened canes projecting, as at first, six 
inches above the surface. During the remainder 
of the spring and summer the soil between the 
plants chiefly requires to be kept open, mellow, 
and free from weeds. In using the hoe, be care- 
ful not to cut off the young raspberry sprouts, on 
which the future crop depends. Do not be disap- 
pointed if the growth seems feeble the first year, 
for these foreign kinds are often slow in starting. 
In November, before there is any danger of the 
ground freezing, I should cut back the young canes 
at least one third of their length, bend them gently 
down, and cover them with earth to the depth of 
four or five inches. It must be distinctly remem- 
bered that very few of the foreign kinds would en- 
dure our winter unprotected. Every autumn they 
must be covered as I have directed. Is any one 
aghast at this labor? Nonsense! Antwerps are 



THE RASPBERRY. 12$ 

covered by the acre along the Hudson. A man 
and a boy would cover in an hour all that are 
needed for a garden. 

After the first year the foreign varieties, like 
all others, will send up too many sprouts, or 
suckers. Unless new plants are wanted, these 
should be treated as weeds, and only from three 
to five young canes be left to grow in each hill. 
This is a very important point, for too often the 
raspberry-patch is neglected until it is a mass of 
tangled bushes. Keep this simple principle in 
mind: there is a given amount of root-power; if 
this cannot be expended in making young sprouts 
all over the ground, it goes to produce a few 
strong fruit-bearing canes in the hill. In other 
words, you restrict the whole force of the plant to 
the precise work required, — the giving of berries. 
As the original plants grow older, they will show 
a constantly decreasing tendency to throw up new 
shoots ; but as long as they continue to grow, let 
only those survive which are designed to bear the 
following season. 

The canes of cultivated raspberries are biennial. 
A young and in most varieties a fruitless cane is 
produced in one season ; it bears in July the 
second year, and then its usefulness is over. It 
will continue to live in a half-dying way until fall, 
but it is a useless and unsightly life. I know that 



126 THE HOME ACRE. 

it is contended by some that the fohage on the old 
canes aids in nourishing the plants; but I think 
that, under all ordinary circumstances, the leaves 
on the young growth are abundantly sufficient. 
By removing the old canes after they have borne 
their fruit, an aspect of neatness is imparted, which 
would be conspicuously absent were they left. 
Every autumn, before laying the canes down, I 
should shorten them in one third. The remaining 
two thirds will give more fruit by actual measure- 
ment, and the berries will be finer and larger, than 
if the canes were left intact. From first to last the 
soil about the foreign varieties should be main- 
tained in a high degree of fertility and mellowness. 
Of manures from the barn-yard, that from the cow- 
stable is the best; wood-ashes, bone-dust, and de- 
cayed leaves also are excellent fertilizers. During 
all this period the partial shade of small trees will 
be beneficial rather than otherwise, for it should be 
remembered that sheltered localities are the natu- 
ral habitat of the raspberry. 

By a little inquiry the reader can learn whether 
varieties of the foreign class are grown success- 
fully in his vicinity. If they are, he can raise them 
also by following the directions which have been 
given. Brinckle's Orange — a buff-colored berry 
— is certainly one of the most beautiful, delicate, 
and delicious fruits in existence, and is well worth 



THE RASPBERRY. 12/ 

all the care it requires in the regions where it will 
grow; while the Franconia and others should 
never be permitted to die out by fruit connoi- 
seurs. If the soil of your garden is light and 
sandy, or if you live much south of New York, I 
should not advise their trial. They may be grown 
far to the north, however. I am told that tender 
varieties of fruits that can be covered thrive even 
better in Canada than with us. There deep snow 
protects the land, and in spring and autumn they 
do not have long periods when the bare earth is 
alternately freezing and thawing. 

In the second class of raspberries, the crosses 
between the foreign and native species, we now 
have such fine varieties that no one has much 
cause for regret if he can raise them ; and I 
scarcely see how he can help raising them if he 
has sufficient energy to set out a few plants and 
keep them free from weeds and superabundant 
suckers. Take the Cuthbert, for instance ; you 
may set it out almost anywhere, and in almost 
any latitude except that of the extreme Southern 
States. But you must reverse the conditions re- 
quired for the foreign kinds. If the ground is 
very rich, the canes will threaten to grow out of 
sight. I advise that this strong-growing sort be 
planted in rows five feet apart. Any ordinary soil 
is good enough for the Cuthbert to start in, and 



128 THE HOME ACRE. 

the plants will need only a moderate degree of 
fertilizing as they begin to lose a little of their 
first vigor. Of course, if the ground is unusually 
light and poor, it should be enriched and main- 
tained in a fair degree of fertility. The point I 
wish to make is that this variety will thrive where 
most others would starve ; but there is plenty of 
land on which anything will starve. The Cuth- 
bert is a large, late berry, which continues long 
in bearing, and is deserving of a place in every 
garden. I have grown it for many years, and 
have never given it any protection whatever. 
Occasionally there comes a winter which kills the 
canes to the ground. I should perhaps explain to 
the reader here that even in the case of the tender 
foreign kinds it is only the canes that are killed 
by the frost; the roots below the surface are unin- 
jured, and throw up vigorous sprouts the follow- 
ing spring. The Cuthbert is so nearly hardy that 
we let it take its chances, and probably in eight 
winters out of ten it would stand unharmed. Its 
hardiness is greatly enhanced when grown on well- 
drained soils. 

It now has a companion berry in the Marlboro, 
— a variety but recently introduced, and therefore 
not thoroughly tested as yet. Its promise, how- 
ever, is very fine, and it has secured the strong 
yet qualified approval of the best fruit critics. It 



THE RASPBERRY. 1 29 

requires richer soil and better treatment than the 
Cuthbert, and it remains to be seen whether it is 
equally hardy. It is well worth winter protection 
if it is not. It is not a suitable berry for the 
home garden if no other is grown, for the reason 
that it matures its entire crop within a brief time, 
and thus would give a family but a short season 
of raspberries. Cultivated in connection with 
the Cuthbert, it would be admirable, for it is very 
early, and would produce its fruit before the Cuth- 
berts were ripe. Unitedly the two varieties would 
give a family six weeks of raspberries. There are 
scores of other kinds in this class, and some are 
very good indeed, well worth a place in an ama- 
teur's collection ; but the two already named are 
sufficient to supply a family with excellent fruit. 

Of the third class of red raspberries, repre- 
senting our pure native species, I should recom- 
mend only one variety, — the Turner; and that is 
so good that it deserves a place in every collection. 
It certainly is a remarkable raspberry, and has an 
unusual history, which I have given in my work 
** Success with Small Fruits." I doubt whether 
there is a hardier raspberry in America, — one that 
can be grown so far to the north, and, what is still 
more in its favor, so far to the south. In the latter 
region it is known as the Southern Thornless. The 
fact that it is almost wholly without spines is a 

9 



I30 THE HOME ACRE. 

good quality; but it is only one among many 
others. The Turner requires no winter protection 
whatever, will grow on almost any soil in existence, 
and in almost any climate. It yields abundantly 
medium-sized berries of good flavor. The fruit 
begins to ripen early, and lasts throughout a some- 
what extended season. It will probably give more 
berries, with more certainty and less trouble, than 
any other variety. Even its fault leans to virtue's 
side. Set out a single plant, leave it to Nature, 
and in time it will cover the place with Turner 
raspberries ; and yet it will do this in a quiet, unob- 
trusive way, for it is not a rampant, ugly grower. 
While it will persist in living under almost any 
circumstances, I have found no variety that re- 
sponded more gratefully to good treatment. This 
consists simply in three things: (i) rigorous re- 
striction of the suckers to four or five canes in the 
hill ; (2) keeping the soil clean and mellow about 
the bearing plants; (3) making this soil rich. Its 
dwarf habit of growth, unlike that of the Cuthbert, 
enables one to stimulate it with any kind of ma- 
nure. By this course the size of the bushes is 
greatly increased, and enormous crops can be 
obtained. 

I prefer to set out all raspberries in the fall, 
although as a matter of convenience I often per- 
form the task in the early spring. I do not believe 



THE RASPBERRY. I3I 

in late spring planting, except as one takes up a 
young sprout, two or three inches high, and sets it 
out as one would a tomato -plant. By this course 
time is often saved. When it is our wish to 
increase the quality and quantity of the fruit, I 
should advise that the canes of all varieties be cut 
back one third of their length. A little observa- 
tion will teach us the reason for this. Permit a 
long cane to bear throughout its natural length, 
and you will note that many buds near the ground 
remain dormant or make a feeble growth. The 
sap, following a general law of nature, pushes to 
the extremities, and is, moreover, too much dif- 
fused. Cut away one third, and all the buds start 
with redoubled vigor, while more and larger fruit 
is the result. If, however, earliness in ripening is 
the chief consideration, as it often is, especially 
with the market-gardener, leave the canes un- 
pruned, and the fruit ripens a few days sooner. 

In purveying for the home table, white rasp- 
berries offer the attractions of variety and beauty. 
In the case of Brinckle's Orange, its exquisite 
flavor is the chief consideration ; but this fastidi- 
ous foreign berrry is practically beyond the reach 
of the majority. There is, however, an excellent 
variety, the Caroline, which is almost as hardy as 
the Turner, and more easily grown. It would 
seem that Nature designed every one to have it (if 



132 THE HOME ACRE. 

we may say it of Caroline), for not only does it 
sucker freely like the red raspberries, but the tips 
of the canes also bend over, take root, and form 
new plants. The one thing that Caroline needs is 
repression, the curb ; she is too intense. 

I am incHned to think, however, that she has 
had her day, even as an attendant on royalty, for a 
new variety, claiming the high-sounding title of 
Golden Queen, has mysteriously appeared. I say 
mysteriously, for it is difficult to account for her 
origin. Mr. Ezra Stokes, a fruit-grower of New 
Jersey, had a field of twelve acres planted with 
Cuthbert raspberries. In this field he found a 
bush producing white berries. In brief, he found 
an Albino of the Cuthbert. Of the causes of her 
existence he knows nothing. All we can say, I 
suppose, is that the variation was produced by 
some unknown impulse of Nature. Deriving her 
claims from such a source, she certainly has a 
better title to royalty than most of her sister 
queens, who, according to history, have been com- 
monplace women, suggesting anything but na- 
ture. With the exception of the Philadelphians, 
perhaps, we as a people will not stand on the 
question of ancestry, and shall be more inclined 
to see how she " queens it." 

Of course the enthusiastic discoverer and dis- 
seminators of this variety claim that it is not only 



THE RASPBERRY. 1 33 

like the Cuthbert, but far better. Let us try it and 
see ; if it is as good, we may well be content, and 
can grace our tables with beautiful fruit. 

There is another American species of raspberry 
(Rtibiis occidimtalis) that is almost as dear to mem- 
ory as the wild strawberry, — the thimble-berry, or 
blackcap. I confess that the wild flavor of this 
fruit is more to my taste than that of any other 
raspberry. Apparently its seeds have been sown 
broadcast over the continent, for it is found almost 
everywhere, and there have been few children in 
America whose lips have not been stained by the 
dark purple juice of its fruit. Seeds dropped in 
neglected pastures, by fence and road-sides, and 
along the edges of the forest, produce new varie- 
ties which do not propagate themselves by suckers 
like red raspberries, but in a manner quite distinct. 
The young purple canes bend over and take root 
in the soil during August, September, and Octo- 
ber. At the extreme end of the tip from which 
the roots descend a bud is formed, which remains 
dormant until the following spring. Therefore the 
young plant we set out is a more or less thick mass 
of roots, a green bud, and usually a bit of the old 
parent cane, which is of no further service except 
as a handle and a mark indicating the location ot 
the plant. After the ground has been prepared 
as one would for corn or potatoes, it should be 



134 THE HOME ACRE. 

levelled, a line stretched for the row, and the plants 
set four feet apart in the row. Sink the roots as 
straight down as possible, and let the bud point 
upward, covering it lightly with merely one or two 
inches of soil. Press the ground firmly against 
the roots, but not on the bud. The soil just over 
this should be fine and mellow, so that the young 
shoot can push through easily, which it will soon 
do if the plants were in good condition. Except 
in the extreme South, spring is by far the best 
time for planting, and it should be done early, 
while the buds are dormant. After these begin to 
grow, keep the ground mellow and free from 
weeds. The first effort of the young plant will be 
to propagate itself. It will sprawl over the ground 
if left to its wild impulses, and will not make an 
upright bearing bush. On this account put a 
stake down by the young sprout, and as it grows 
keep it tied up and away from the ground. When 
the side-branches are eight or ten inches long, 
pinch them back, thus throwing the chief strength 
into the central cane. By keeping all the branches 
pinched back you form the plant into an erect, 
sturdy bush that will load itself with berries the 
following year. No fruit will be borne the first 
season. The young canes of the second year will 
incline to be more sturdy and erect in their growth ; 
but this tendency can be greatly enhanced by clip- 



THE RASPBERRY. I35 

ping the long slender branches which are thrown 
out on every side. As soon as the old canes are 
through bearing, they should be cut out and 
burned or composted with other refuse from the 
garden. Blackcaps may be planted on any soil 
that is not too dry. When the plant suffers from 
drought, the fruit consists of little else than seeds. 
To escape this defect I prefer to put the blackcaps 
in a moist location ; and it is one of the few fruits 
that will thrive in a cold, wet soil. One can set 
out plants here and there in out-of-the-way cor- 
ners, and they often do better than those in the 
garden. Indeed, unless a place is kept up very 
neatly, many such bushes will be found growing 
wild, and producing excellent fruit. 

The question may arise in some minds. Why 
buy plants? Why not get them from the woods 
and fields, or let Nature provide bushes for us 
where she will? When Nature produces a bush 
on my place where it is not in the way, I let it 
grow, and pick the fruit in my rambles ; but the 
supply would be precarious indeed for a family. 
By all means get plants from the woods if you 
have marked a bush that produces unusually fine 
fruit. It is by just this course that the finest va- 
rieties have been obtained. If you go a-berrying, 
you may light on something finer than has yet 
been discovered; but it is not very probable. 



136 THE HOME ACRE. 

Meanwhile, for a dollar you can get all the plants 
you want of the two or three best varieties that 
have yet been discovered, from Maine to Cali- 
fornia. After testing a great many kinds, I should 
recommend the Souhegan for early, and the Mam- 
moth Cluster and Gregg for late. A clean, mellow 
soil in good condition, frequent pinchings back of 
the canes in summer, or a rigorous use of the 
pruning-shears in spring, are all that is required 
to secure an abundant crop from year to year. 
This species may also be grown among trees. I ad- 
vise that every kind and description of raspberries 
be kept tied to stakes or a wire trellis. The wood 
ripens better, the fruit is cleaner and richer from 
exposure to air and sunshine, and the garden is 
far neater than if the canes are sprawling at will. 
I know that all horticulturists advise that the plants 
be pinched back so thoroughly as to form self- 
supporting bushes; but I have yet to see the 
careful fruit-grower who did this, or the bushes 
that some thunder-gusts would not prostrate into 
the mud with all their precious burden, were they 
not well supported. Why take the risk to save a 
twopenny stake? 

If, just before the fruit begins to ripen, a mulch 
of leaves, cut grass, or any htter that will cover the 
ground slightly, is placed under and around the 
bushes, it may save a great deal of fruit from being 



THE RASPBERRY. 1 37 

spoiled. The raspberry season is also the hour 
and opportunity for thunder-showers, whose great 
slanting drops often splash the soil to surprising dis- 
tances. Sugar-and-cream-coated, not mud-coated, 
berries, if you please. 

In my remarks on raspberries I have not named 
many varieties, and have rather laid stress on the 
principles which may guide the reader in his 
present and future selections of kinds. Sufficient 
in number and variety to meet the needs of every 
family have been mentioned. The amateur may 
gratify his taste by testing other sorts described in 
nurserymen's catalogues. Moreover, every year or 
two some new variety will be heralded throughout 
the land. The reader has merely to keep in mind 
the three classes of raspberries described and their 
characteristics, in order to make an intelligent 
choice from old and new candidates for favor. 

It should also be remembered that the rasp- 
berry is a Northern fruit. I am often asked in 
effect, What raspberries do you recommend for 
the Gulf States? I suppose my best reply would 
be, What oranges do you think best adapted to 
New York? Most of the foreign kinds falter and 
fail in New Jersey and Southern Pennsylvania; 
the Cuthbert and its class can be grown much 
farther south, while the Turner and the blackcaps 
thrive almost to Florida. 



138 THE HOME ACRE. 

Raspberries, especially those of our native 
species, are comparatively free from disease. For- 
eign varieties and their hybrids are sometimes 
afflicted with the curl-leaf. The foliage crimps up, 
the canes are dwarfed, and the whole plant has a 
sickly and often yellow appearance. The only 
remedy is to dig up the plant, root and branch, 
and burn it. 

A disease termed the ** rust " not infrequently 
attacks old and poorly nourished blackcap bushes. 
The leaves take on an ochreous color, and the 
plant is seen to be failing. Extirpate it as directed 
above. If many bushes are affected, I advise that 
the whole patch be rooted up, and healthy plants 
set out elsewhere. 

It is a well-known law of Nature that plants of 
nearly all kinds appear to exhaust from the soil 
in time the ingredients peculiarly acceptable to 
them. Skill can do much towards maintaining 
the needful supply; but the best and easiest plan 
is not to grow any of the small fruits too long in 
any one locality. By setting out new plants on 
different ground, far better results are attained 
with much less trouble. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE CURRANT. 

T ^ /"HO that has ever Hved in the country does 
^ * not remember the old straggh'ng currant- 
bushes that disputed their existence with grass, 
docks, and other coarse-growing weeds along some 
ancient fence? Many also can recall the weary 
task of gathering a quart or two of the diminutive 
fruit for pies, and the endless picking required to 
obtain enough for the annual jelly-making. Nor 
is this condition of affairs a thing of the past. 
Drive through the land where you will in early 
July, and you will see farmers mowing round the 
venerable Red Dutch currants ''to give the women- 
folks a chance at 'em." The average farmer still 
bestows upon this fruit about as much attention as 
the aborigines gave to their patches of maize. 
This seems very absurd when we remember the 
important place held in the domestic economy by 
the currant, and how greatly it improves under 
decent treatment. If it demanded the attention 
which a cabbage-plant requires, it would be given; 
but the currant belongs to that small class of 



140 THE HOME ACRE. 

creatures which permit themselves to be used when 
wanted, and snubbed, neglected, and imposed 
upon at other times. It is known that the bushes 
will manage to exist, and do the very best they 
can, no matter how badly treated ; and average 
human nature has ever taken advantage of such 
traits, to its continuous loss. 

The patience of the currant is due perhaps to its 
origin, for it grows wild round the northern hemi- 
sphere, its chief haunts being the dim, cold, damp 
woods of the high latitudes. You may tame, 
modify, and vastly change anything possessing 
life ; but original traits are scarcely ever wholly 
eradicated. Therefore the natural habitat and 
primal qualities of the currant indicate the true 
lines of development, its capabilities and limita- 
tions. It is essentially a northern fruit, requiring 
coolness, moisture, and alluvial soils. It begins 
to falter and look homesick even in New Jersey ; 
and one has not to go far down the Atlantic 
coast to pass beyond the range of its successful 
culture. I do not see why it should not thrive 
much farther south on the northern slopes of the 
mountains. From Philadelphia northward, how- 
ever, except on light dry soils and in sunny ex- 
posures, there is no reason why it should not give 
ample returns for the attention it requires. 

I shall not lay stress on the old, well-known uses 



THE CURRANT. I41 

to which this fruit is put, but I do think its value 
is but half appreciated. People rush round in July 
in search of health : let me recommend the currant 
cure. If any one is languid, depressed in spirits, 
inclined to headaches, and generally "out of sorts," 
let him finish his breakfast daily for a month with 
a dish of freshly picked currants. He will soon 
almost doubt his own identity, and may even begin 
to think that he is becoming a good man. He 
will be more gallant to his wife, kinder to his chil- 
dren, friendlier to his neighbors, and more open- 
handed to every good cause. Work will soon 
seem play, and play fun. In brief, the truth of 
the ancient pun will be verified, that " the power 
to live a good life depends largely upon the liver!' 
Out upon the nonsense of taking medicine and 
nostrums during the currant-season ! Let it be 
taught at theological seminaries that the currant is 
a ''means of grace." It is a corrective; and that 
is what average humanity most needs. 

The currant, like the raspberry, is willing to 
keep shady ; but only because it is modest. It is 
one of the fruits that thrive better among trees 
than in too dry and sunny exposures. Therefore, 
in economizing space on the Home Acre it may 
be grown among smaller trees, or, better still, on 
the northern or eastern side of a wall or hedge. 
But shade is not essential, except as we go south ; 



142 THE HOME ACRE. 

then the requisites of moisture and shelter from 
the burning rays of the sun should be complied 
with as far as possible. In giving this and kindred 
fruits partial shade, they should not be compelled 
to contend to any extent with the roots of trees. 
This will ever prove an unequal contest. No fruit 
can thrive in dense shade, or find sustenance among 
the voracious roots of a tree. 

Select, therefore, if possible, heavy, deep, moist, 
yet well-drained soil, and do not fear to make and 
keep it very rich. If you are restricted to sandy 
or gravelly soils, correct their defects with com- 
post, decayed leaves and sods, muck, manure from 
the cow-stable, and other fertilizers with staying 
rather than stimulating qualities. Either by 
ploughing or forking, deepen as well as enrich 
the soil. It is then ready for the plants, which 
may be set out either in the fall or in early spring. 
I prefer the autumn, — any time after the leaves 
have fallen; but spring answers almost as well, 
while buds are dormant, or partially so. It should 
be remembered that the currant starts very early, 
and is in full foliage before some persons are 
fairly wakened to garden interests. It would, in 
this case, be better to wait until October, unless 
the plants can be obtained from a neighbor on a 
cloudy day; then they should be cut back two 
thirds of their length before being removed, and 



THE CURRANT. 1 43 

the transfer made as quickly as possible. Under 
any circumstances, take off half of the wood from 
the plants bought. This need not be thrown 
away. Every cutting of young wood six inches 
long will make a new plant in a single season. 
All that is needful is to keep the wood moist until 
ready to put it in the ground, or, better still, a 
cool, damp place in the garden can be selected at 
once, and the cuttings sunk two thirds of their 
length into the ground, and the soil pressed firm 
around them. By fall they will have a good sup- 
ply of roots, and by the following autumn be ready 
to be set out wherever you wish them to fruit. 

Currant-bushes may be planted five feet apart 
each way, and at the same distance, if they are to 
line a fence. They should be sunk a few inches 
deeper in the soil than they stood before, and the 
locality be such as to admit of good culture. The 
soil should never be permitted to become hard, 
weedy, or grass-grown. As a rule, I prefer two- 
year-old plants, while those of one year's growth 
answer nearly as well, if vigorous. If in haste for 
fruit, it may be well to get three-year-old plants, 
unless they have been dwarfed and enfeebled by 
neglect. Subsequent culture consists chiefly in 
keeping the soil clean, mellow, rich, and therefore 
moist. I have named the best fertilizers for the 
currant; but if the product of the horse-stable is 



144 THE HOME ACRE. 

employed, use it first as a mulch. It will thus 
gradually reach the roots. Otherwise it is too 
stimulating, and produces a rampant growth of 
wood rather than fruit. 

Under any circumstances this tendency to pro- 
duce an undue amount of wood must be repressed 
almost as rigorously as in the grape-vine. The 
secret of successful currant-culture is richness be- 
neath, and restriction above. English gardeners 
are said to have as complete and minute systems 
of pruning and training currants as the grape ; but 
we do not seem to have patience for such detail. 
Nor do I regard it as necessary. Our object is an 
abundant supply of excellent fruit; and this result 
can be obtained at a surprisingly small outlay of 
time and money, if they are expended judiciously. 

The art of trimming a currant-bush, like that of 
pruning a grape-vine, is best learned by observa- 
tion and experience. One can give principles 
rather than lay down rules. Like the vine, the 
currant tends to choke itself with a superabun- 
dance of wood, which soon becomes more or less 
barren. This is truer of some varieties than of 
others; but in all instances the judicious use of 
the pruning-knife doubles the yield. In view of 
the supposition that the leading shoot and all the 
branches were shortened in one half when the 
plant was set out, I will suggest that early in June 



THE CURRANT. 1 45 

it will be observed that much more wood is form- 
ing than can be permitted to remain. There are 
weak, crowding shoots which never can be of any 
use. If these are cut out at this time, the sap 
which would go to mature them will be directed 
into the valuable parts of the forming bush. Sum- 
mer pruning prevents misspent force, and it may 
be kept up with great advantage from year to year. 
This is rarely done, however; therefore early in 
spring the bushes must receive a good annual 
pruning, and the long shoots and branches be cut 
well back, so as to prevent naked reaches of wood. 
Observe a very productive bush, and you will see 
that there are many points abounding in little side- 
branches. It is upon these that the fruit is chiefly 
borne. A bush left to itself is soon a mass of long, 
slender, almost naked stalks, with a little fruit at 
the ends. The ideal bush is stocky, open, well 
branched, admitting light, air, and sun in every 
part. There is no crowding and smothering of the 
fruit by the foliage. But few clusters are borne on 
very young wood, and when this grows old and 
black, the clusters are small. Therefore new wood 
should always be coming on and kept well cut 
back, so as to form joints and side-branches ; and 
as other parts grow old and feeble they should be 
cut out. Observation and experience will teach 
the gardener more than all the rules that could be 

10 



146 THE HOME ACRE. 

written, for he will perceive that he must prune 
each bush according to its own individuality. 

For practical purposes the bush form is the best 
in which to grow currants ; but they can easily be 
made to form pretty little trees with tops shaped 
like an umbrella, or any other form we desire. 
For instance, I found, one autumn, a shoot about 
three feet long. I rubbed off all the buds except 
the terminal one and three or four just beneath it, 
then sunk the lower end of the shoot six inches 
into the soil, and tied the part above the ground to 
a short stake. The following spring the lower end 
took root, and the few buds at the top developed 
into a small bushy head. Clumps of miniature 
currant-trees would make as pretty an ornament 
for the garden border as one would wish to see. 
It should be remembered that there is a currant as 
well as an apple borer; but the pests are not very 
numerous or destructive, and such little trees may 
easily be grown by the hundred. 

Clean culture has one disadvantage which must 
be guarded against. If the ground under bushes is 
loose, heavy rains will sometimes so splash up the 
soil as to muddy the greater part of the fruit. I 
once suffered serious loss in this way, and deserved 
it; for a little grass mown from the lawn, or any 
other litter spread under and around the bushes 
just before the fruit ripened, would have prevented 



THE CURRANT. 1 47 

it. It will require but a very few minutes to insure 
a clean crop. 

I imagine that if these pages are ever read, and 
such advice as I can give is followed, it will be 
more often by the mistress than the master of the 
Home Acre. I address him, but quite as often I 
mean her ; and just at this point I am able to give 
*' the power behind the throne " a useful hint. 
Miss Alcott, in her immortal "Little Women," has 
given an instance of what dire results may follow 
if the *' jelly won't jell." Let me hasten to insure 
domestic peace by telling my fair reader (who will 
also be, if the jelly turns out of the tumblers 
tremulous yet firm, a gentle reader) that if she will 
have the currants picked just as soon as they are 
fully ripe, and before they have been drenched by 
a heavy rain, she will find that the jelly will " jell." 
It is over-ripe, water-soaked currants that break up 
families and demolish household gods. Let me 
also add another fact, as true as it is strange, that 
white currants make red jelly; therefore give the 
pearly fruit ample space in the garden. 

In passing to the consideration of varieties it is 
quite natural in this connection to mention the 
white sorts first. I know that people are not yet 
sufficiently educated, to demand white currants of 
their grocers ; but the home garden is as much be- 
yond the grocer's stall as the home is better than a 



148 THE HOME ACRE. 

boarding-house. There is no reason why free peo- 
ple in the country should be slaves to convention- 
alities, prejudices, and traditions. If white currants 
are sweeter, more delicious and beautiful than the 
red, why, so they are. Therefore let us plant them 
abundantly. 

If there is to be a queen among the currants, 
the White Grape is entitled to the crown. When 
placed upon the table, the dish appears heaped 
with translucent pearls. The sharp acid of the 
red varieties is absent, and you feel that if you 
could live upon them for a time, your blood would 
grow pure, if not *' blue." 

The bush producing this exquisite fruit is like 
an uncouth-looking poet who gives beauty from an 
inner life, but disappoints in externals. It is low- 
branching and unshapely, and must be forced in- 
to good form — the bush, not the poet — by the 
pruning-knife. If this is done judiciously, no 
other variety will bear more profusely or present a 
fairer object on a July day. 

The White Dutch has the well-known character- 
istics in growth of the common Red Dutch currant, 
and is inferior only to the White Grape in size. 
The fruit is equally transparent, beautiful, mild, 
and agreeable in flavor, while the bush is enor- 
mously productive, and shapely in form, if properly 
trained and fertilized. 



THE CURRANT. I49 

While the white currants are such favorites, I do 
not undervalue the red. Indeed, were I restricted 
to one variety, it should be the old Dutch Red of 
our fathers, or, more properly, of our grandmoth- 
ers. For general house uses I do not think it has 
yet been surpassed. It is not so mild in flavor as 
the white varieties, but there is a richness and 
sprightliness in its acid that are grateful indeed on 
a sultry day. Mingled with the white berries, it 
makes a beautiful dish, while it has all the culinary 
qualities which the housekeeper can desire. If 
the bush is rigorously pruned and generously 
enriched, it is unsurpassed in productiveness, and 
the fruit approaches very nearly to the Cherry 
currant in size. 

I do not recommend the last-named kind for 
the home garden, unless large, showy fruit counts 
for more than flavor. The acid of the Cherry cur- 
rant, unless very ripe, is harsh and watery. At 
best it never acquires an agreeable mildness, to 
my taste. The bushes also are not so certainly 
productive, and usually require skilful pruning and 
constant fertilizing to be profitable. For the mar- 
ket, which demands size above all things, the 
Cherry is the kind to grow; but in the home gar- 
den flavor and productiveness are the more impor- 
tant qualities. Fay's Prolific is a new sort that has 
been very highly praised. 



150 THE HOME ACRE. 

The Victoria is an excellent late variety, which, 
if planted in a sheltered place, prolongs the cur- 
rant-season well into the autumn. Spurious kinds 
are sold under this name. The true Victoria pro- 
duces a pale- red fruit with tapering clusters or 
racemes of berries. This variety, with the three 
others recommended, gives the family two red and 
two white kinds, — all that are needed. Those who 
are fond of black currants can, at almost any nur- 
sery, procure the Black Naples and Lee's Prolific. 
Either variety will answer all practical purposes. 
I confess they are not at all to my taste. 

From the currant we pass on naturally to the 
gooseberry, for in origin and requirements it is 
very similar. Both belong to the Rihes family of 
plants, and they are to be cultivated on the same 
general principles. What I have written in regard 
to partial shade, cool, sheltered localities, rich, 
heavy soils, good culture, and especially rigorous 
pruning, applies with even greater force to this 
fruit, especially if we endeavor to raise the foreign 
varieties. Ii> cultivating this fruit it is even more 
important than w^as true of raspberries that the 
reader should distinguish between the native and 
foreign species. The latter are so inclined to mil- 
dew in almost every locality that there is rarely any 
certainty of satisfactory fruit. The same evil pur- 
sues the seedling children of the foreign sorts, and 



THE CURRANT. I51 

I have never seen a hybrid or cross between the 
English and native species that was with any cer- 
tainty free from a brown disfiguring rust wholly or 
partially enveloping the berries. Here and there 
the fruit in some gardens will escape year after 
year; again, on places not far away, the blighting 
mildew is sure to appear before the berries are 
fully grown. Nevertheless, the foreign varieties 
are so fine that it is well to give them a fair trial. 
The three kinds which appear best adapted to our 
climate are Crown Bob, Roaring Lion, and White- 
smith. A new large variety, named Industry, is 
now being introduced, and if half of what is claimed 
for it is true, it is worth a place in all gardens. 

In order to be certain of clean, fair gooseberries 
every year, we must turn to our native species, 
which has already given us several good varieties. 
The Downing is the largest and best, and the 
Houghton the hardiest, most productive and 
easily raised. When we remember the superb^ 
fruit which English gardeners have developed 
from wild kinds inferior to ours, we can well un- 
derstand that the true American gooseberries are 
yet to be developed. In my work " Success with 
Small Fruits " those who are interested in this 
fruit will find much fuller treatment than is war- 
ranted in the present essay. 

Not only do currants and gooseberries require 



152 THE HOME ACRE. 

similar treatment and cultivation, but they also 
have a common enemy that must be vigilantly 
guarded against, or the bushes will be defoliated 
in many localities almost before its existence is 
known. After an absence of a few days I have 
found some of my bushes stripped of every leaf. 
When this happens, the fruit is comparatively 
worthless.. Foliage is as necessary to a plant as 
are lungs to a man. It isjiot essential that I should 
go into the natural history of the currant worm 
and moth. Having once seen the yellowish-green 
caterpillars at their destructive work, the reader's 
thoughts will not revert to the science of ento- 
mology, but will at once become bloody and im- 
placable. I hasten to suggest the means of rescue 
and vengeance. The moment these worms ap- 
pear, be on your guard, for they usually spread 
like fire in stubble. Procure of your druggist 
white hellebore, scald and mix a tablespoonful 
in a bowl of hot water, and then pour it in a full 
watering-can. This gives you an infusion of about 
a tablespoonful to an ordinary pail of water at its 
ordinary summer temperature. Sprinkle the in- 
fected bushes with this as often as there is a worm 
to be seen. I have never failed in destroying the 
pests by this course. It should be remembered, 
however, that new eggs are often hatched out 
daily. You may kill every worm to-day, yet find 



THE CURRANT. I53 

plenty on the morrow. Vigilance, however, will 
soon so check the evil that your currants are safe; 
and if every one would fight the pests, they would 
eventually be almost exterminated. The trouble 
is that, while you do your duty, your next-door 
neighbor may grow nothing on his bushes but 
currant-worms. Thus the evil is continued, and 
even increased, in spite of all that you can do ; 
but by a little vigilance and the use of hellebore 
you can always save your currants. I have kept 
my bushes green, luxuriant, and loaded with fruit 
when, at a short distance, the patches of careless 
neighbors were rendered utterly worthless. Our 
laws but half protect the birds, the best insecti- 
cides, and there is no law to prevent a man from 
allowing his acres to be the breeding-place of 
every pest prevailing. 

There are three species of the currant-borer, 
and their presence is indicated by yellow foliage 
and shrivelling fruit. The only remedy is to cut 
out and burn the alTected stems. These pests are 
not often sufficiently numerous to do much harm. 

I earnestly urge that virulent poisons like Paris 
green, London purple, etc., never be used on fruit 
or edible vegetables. There cannot be safety in 
this course. I never heard of any one that was 
injured by white hellebore, used as I have directed; 
and I have found that if the worms were kept off 



154 THE HOME ACRE. 

until the fruit began to ripen, the danger was 
practically over. If I had to use hellebore after 
the fruit was fit to use, I should first kill the 
worms, and then cleanse the bushes thoroughly 
by spraying them with clean water. 

In treating the two remaining small fruits, black- 
berries and strawberries, we pass wholly out of 
the shade and away from trees. Sunshine and 
open ground are now required. Another impor- 
tant difference can also be mentioned, reversing 
former experience. America is the home of these 
fruits. The wild species of the blackberry abroad 
has never, as far as I can learn, been developed 
into varieties worthy of cultivation ; and before 
importations from North and South America 
began, the only strawberry of Europe was the 
Alpine, with its slight variations, and the musky 
Hautbois. 

I do not know whether any of our fine varieties 
of blackberries are cultivated abroad, but I am 
perfectly certain that they are worthy of the slight 
attention required to raise them in perfection 
here. 

Like the blackcaps, all our best varieties are 
the spontaneous products of Nature, first discovered 
growing wild, and transferred to the garden. The 
blackberry is a fruit that takes kindly to cul- 
tivation, and improves under it. 



THE CURRANT. I55 

The proper treatment is management rather 
than cuhivation and stimulation. It requires a 
sunny exposure and a Hght, warm soil, yet not so 
dry as to prevent the fruit from maturing into 
juicy berries. If possible, set the blackberries 
off by themselves, for it is hard to prevent the 
strong roots from travelling all over the garden. 
The blackberry likes a rich, moist, mellow soil, 
and, finding it, some varieties will give you canes 
sixteen feet high. You do not want rank, thorny 
brambles, however, but berries. Therefore the 
blackberry should be put where it can do no harm, 
and, by a little judicious repression, a great deal 
of good. A gravelly or sandy knoll, with a chance 
to mow all round the patch, is the best place. 
The blackberry needs a deep, loose soil rather 
than a rich one. Then the roots will luxuriate to 
unknown depths, the wood ripen thoroughly, and 
the fruit be correspondingly abundant. 

Let the rows be six feet apart ; set out the plants 
in the fall, if possible, or early spring; put two 
plants in the hills, which may be four feet apart. 
If the ground is very poor, give the young plants 
a shovelful of old compost, decayed leaves, etc. 
Any fertilizer will answer, so that it is spread just 
over the roots to give the plants a good send-off. 

As a rule, complete success in blackberry culture 
consists in a little judicious work performed in 



156 THE HOME ACRE. 

May, June, and July. The plants, having been 
set out as I have advised in the case of raspberries, 
throw up the first season strong green shoots. 
When these shoots are three feet high, pinch off 
the top, so as to stop upward growth. The result 
of this is that branches start on every side, and 
the plant forms a low, stocky, self-supporting bush, 
which will be loaded with fruit the following 
season. 

The second year the plants in the hill will 
send up stronger canes, and there will be plenty 
of sprouts or suckers in the intervening spaces. 
When very young, these useless sprouts can be 
pulled out with the least possible trouble. Left to 
mature, they make a thorny wilderness which will 
cause bleeding hands and faces when attacked, 
and add largely to the family mending. That 
which a child could do as play when the suckers 
were just coming through the ground, is now a 
formidable task for any man. In early summer 
you can with the utmost ease keep every useless 
blackberry sprout from growing. More canes, 
also, will usually start from the hill than are 
needed. Leave but three strong shoots, and this 
year pinch them back as soon as they are four 
feet high, thus producing three stocky, well- 
branched bushes, which in sheltered places will 
be self-supporting. Should there be the slightest 



THE CURRANT. 1 57 

danger of their breaking down with their load of 
fruit, tie them to stakes by all means. I do not 
believe in that kind of economy which tries to 
save a penny at the risk of a dollar. 

I believe that better and larger fruit is always 
secured by shortening in the side branches one 
third of their length in spring. Fine varieties 
like the Kittatinny are not entirely hardy in 
all localities. The snow will protect the lower 
branches, and the upper ones can usually be kept 
uninjured by throwing over them some very light 
litter, like old pea or bean vines, etc., — nothing 
heavy enough to break them down. As soon as 
the old canes are through bearing, they should be 
cut out. If the blackberry patch has been left 
to its own wild will, there is nothing left for us 
but to attack it, well-gloved, in April, with the 
pruning-shears, and cut out everything except 
three or four young canes in the hill. These will 
probably be tall, slender, and branchless, there- 
fore comparatively unproductive. In order to 
have any fruit at all, we must shorten them one 
third, and tie them to stakes. It thus may be 
clearly seen that with blackberries '' a stich in 
time " saves almost ninety-nine. Keep out coarse 
weeds and grass, and give fertilizers only when 
the plants show signs of feebleness and lack of 
nutrition. 



158 THE HOME ACRE. 

A rust similar to that which attacks the black- 
cap is almost the only disease we have to contend 
with. The remedy is the same, — extirpation of 
the plant, root and branch. 

After testing a great many kinds, I recommend 
the three following varieties, ripening in succession 
for the family, — the Early Harvest, Snyder, and 
Kittatinny. These all produce rich, high-flavored 
berries, and, under the treatment suggested, will 
prove hardy in nearly all localities. This fruit is 
not ripe as soon as it is black, and it is rarely left 
on the bushes until the hard core in the centre 
is mellowed by complete maturity. I have found 
that berries picked in the evening and stood in a 
cool place were in excellent condition for break- 
fast. To have them in perfection, however, they 
must be so ripe as to drop into the basket at the 
slightest touch ; then, as Donald Mitchell says, 
they are " bloated bubbles of forest honey." 

I fancy the reader is as impatient to reach the 
strawberry as I am myself " Doubtless God could 
have made a better berry " — but I forbear. This 
saying has been quoted by the greater part of the 
human race, and attributed to nearly every promi- 
nent man, from Adam to Mr. Beecher. There 
are said to be unfortunates whom the strawberry 
poisons. The majority of us feel as if we could 
attain Methuselah's age if we had nothing worse 



THE CURRANT. I 59 

to contend with. Praising the strawberry is like 
''painting the Hly;" therefore let us give our 
attention at once to the essential details of its 
successful culture. 

As we have intimated before, this fruit as we find 
it in our gardens, even though we raise foreign 
kinds, came originally from America. The two 
great species, Fragaria chilensis, found on the Pacific 
slope from Oregon to Chili, and Fragaria virgi- 
niajia, growing wild in all parts of North America 
east of the Rocky Mountains, are the sources of 
all the fine varieties that have been named and 
cultivated. The Alpine strawberry {Fragaria 
vesca'), which grows wild throughout the northern 
hemisphere, does not appear capable of much 
variation and development under cultivation.. Its 
seeds, sown under all possible conditions, repro- 
duce the parent plant. Foreign gardeners eventu- 
ally learned, however, that seeds of the Chili 
and Virginia strawberry produced new varieties 
which were often much better than their parents. 
As time passed, and more attention was drawn 
to this subject, superb varieties were originated 
abroad, many of them acquiring a wide celebrity. 
In this case, as has been true of nearly all other 
fruits, our nurserymen and fruit-growers first 
looked to Europe for improved varieties. Horti- 
culturists were slow to learn that in our own native 



l60 THE HOME ACRE. 

species were the possibilities of the best success. 
The ChiH strawberry, brought directly from the 
Pacific coast to the East, is not at home in our 
climate, and is still more unfitted to contend with 
it after generations of culture in Europe. Even 
our hardier Virginia strawberry, coming back to 
us from England after many years of high stimu- 
lation in a moist, mild climate, is unequal to the 
harsher conditions of life here. They are like 
native Americans who have lived and been pam- 
pered abroad so long that they find this country 
''quite too rude, you know — beastly climate." 
Therefore, in the choice varieties, and in develop- 
ing new ones, the nearer we can keep to vigorous 
strains of our own hardy Virginia species the 
better. From it have proceeded and will continue 
to come the finest kinds that can be grown east 
of the Rockies. Nevertheless, what was said of 
foreign raspberries is almost equally true of Eu- 
ropean strawberries like the Triomphe de Gand 
and Jucunda, and hybrids like the Wilder. In 
localities where they can be grown, their beauty 
and fine flavor repay for the high culture and 
careful winter protection required. But they can 
scarcely be made to thrive on light soils or very 
far to the south. 

So many varieties are offered for sale that the 
question of choice is a bewildering one. I have 



THE CURRANT. l6l 

therefore sought to meet it, as before, by giving 
the advice of those whose opinions are well 
entitled to respect. 

Dr. Hexamer, who has had great and varied 
experience, writes as follows : " A neighbor of 
mine who has for years bought nearly every new 
strawberry when first introduced, has settled on 
the Duchess and Cumberland as the only varieties 
he will grow in the future, and thinks it not worth 
while to seek for something better. Confined to 
two varieties, a more satisfactory selection could 
scarcely be made. But you want six or seven, 
either being, I think, about the right number for 
the home garden. I will give them in the 
order of desirability according to my judgment, 
— Cumberland, Charles Downing, Duchess, Mount 
Vernon, Warren, Sharpless, Jewell." 

The selection which places the Cumberland 
Triumph at the head of the list is but another 
proof how kinds differ under varied conditions. 
On my place this highly praised sort is but mod- 
erately productive and not high-flavored, although 
the fruit is very large and handsome. I regard 
the list, however, as a most excellent one for most 
localities. 

The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder's choice for the 
latitude of Massachusetts : " Charles Downing, 
Wilder, Hervey Davis, Sharpless, Cumberland. 

II 



l62 THE HOME ACRE. 

Kentucky. Jewell is very promising." A. S. Ful 
ler, for latitude of New York : " Charles Downing, 
Sharpless, Miner's Prolific, Wilson's Albany, Cham- 
pion." P. C. Berckmans, for the latitude of 
Georgia: "Wilson, Sharpless, Charles Downing, 
Triomphe de Gand, Glendale." The Hon. Norman 
J. Colman's choice for Missouri and the West: 
" Crescent, Captain Jack, Cumberland, Champion, 
Hart's Minnesota, Cornelia." 

If I gave a hundred other lists, no two of 
them probably would agree in all respects. Mr. 
Downing often said to me, " Soil, climate, and 
locality make greater differences with the straw- 
berry than with any other fruit." This is far 
more true of some varieties than others. I be- 
lieve that the excellent kind named after Mr. 
Downing, if given proper treatment, will do well 
almost anywhere on the continent. It will be 
noted that it is on all the lists except one. I 
should place it at the head of garden strawberries. 
It is a kind that will endure much neglect, and it 
responds splendidly to generous, sensible treat- 
ment. Its delicious flavor is its chief recommen- 
dation, as it should be that of every berry for the 
home garden. 

I have tested many hundreds of kinds, and have 
grown scores and scores that were so praised 
when first sent out that the novice might be 



THE CURRANT. 1 63 

tempted to dig up and throw away everything 
except the wonderful novelty pressed upon his 
attention. There is one quiet, effective way of 
meeting all this heralding and laudation, and that 
is to make trial beds. For instance, I have put 
out as many as seventy kinds at nearly the same 
time, and grown them under precisely the same 
conditions. Some of the much-vaunted new- 
comers were found to be old varieties re-named ; 
others, although sold at high prices and asserted 
to be prodigies, were seen to be comparatively 
worthless when growing by the side of good old 
standard sorts; the majority never rose above 
mediocrity under ordinary treatment ; but now and 
then one, like the Sharpless, fulfilled the promises 
made for it. 

In my next chapter I shall venture to recom- 
mend those varieties which my own experience 
and observation have shown to be best adapted 
to various soils and localities, and shall also seek 
to prove that proper cultivation has more to do 
with success than even the selection of favored 
kinds. 

Nor would I seek to dissuade the proprietor 
of the Home Acre from testing the many novelties 
offered. He will be sure to get a fair return in 
strawberries, and to his interest in his garden will 
add the pleasure and anticipation which accompany 



l64 THE HOME ACRE. 

uncertain experiment. In brief, he has found an 
innocent form of gambhng, which will injure 
neither pocket nor morals. In slow-maturing 
fruits we cannot afford to make mistakes; in 
strawberries, one prize out of a dozen blanks 
repays for everything. 



CHAPTER VII. 

STRAWBERRIES. 

nr^HERE is a very general impression that light, 
-■- dry, sandy soils are the best for the straw- 
berry. Just the reverse of this is true. In its desire 
for moisture it is almost an aquatic plant. Expe- 
rienced horticulturists have learned to recognize 
this truth, which the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder has 
suggested in the following piquant manner : " In 
the first place, the strawberry's chief need is a great 
deal of water. In the second place, it needs more 
water. In the third place, I think I should give it 
a great deal more water." 

While emphasizing this truth the reader should 
at the same time be warned against land whereon 
water stands above the surface in winter and 
spring, or stagnates beneath the surface at any 
time. Moisture is essential to the best results; 
good drainage is equally so. The marvellous crops 
of strawberries raised in California under well- 
directed systems of irrigation should teach us use- 
ful lessons. The plants, instead of producing a 
partially developed crop within a few brief days, 



l66 THE HOME ACRE. 

continue in bearing through weeks and months. 
It may often be possible to supply abundantly on 
the Home Acre this vital requirement of moisture, 
and I shall refer to this point farther on. 

My first advice in regard to strawberries is to 
set them out immediately almost anywhere except 
upon land so recently in grass that the sod is still 
undecayed. This course is better than not to have 
the fruit at all, or to wait for it. A year without 
strawberries is a lost year in one serious respect. 
While there is a wide difference between what 
plants can do under unfavorable conditions and 
what they can be made to do when their needs are 
fully met, they will probably in any event yield a 
fair supply of delicious fruit. Secure this as soon 
as possible. At the same time remember that a 
plant of a good variety is a genius capable of won- 
derful development. In ordinary circumstances 
it is like the '' mute, inglorious " poets whose en- 
forced limitations were lamented by the poet Gray ; 
but when its innate powers and gifts are fully nour- 
ished it expands into surprising proportions, sends 
up hundreds of flowers, which are followed by 
ruby gems of fruit whose exquisite flavor is only 
surpassed by its beauty. No such concentrated 
ambrosia ever graced the feasts of the Olympian 
gods, for they were restricted to the humble F7'a- 
garia vesca, or Alpine species. In discovering the 



STRAWBERRIES. 167 

New World, Columbus also discovered the true 
strawberry, and died without the knowledge of 
this result of his achievement 

I can imagine the expression on the faces of 
those who buy the ** sour, crude, half-ripe Wil- 
sons," against which the poet Bryant inveighed so 
justly. The market is flooded with this fruit be- 
cause it bears transportation about as well as would 
marbles. Yes, they are strawberries ; choke-pears 
and Seckels belong to the same species. There 
is truth enough in my exaggeration to warrant the 
assertion that if we would enjoy the possible straw- 
berry, we must raise it ourselves, and pick it when 
fully matured, — ready for the table, and not for 
market. Then any man's garden can furnish 
something better than was found in Eden. 

Having started a strawberry-patch without loss 
of time wherever it is handiest, we can now give 
our attention to the formation of an ideal bed. In 
this instance we must shun the shade of trees above, 
and their roots beneath. The land should be open 
to the sky, and the sun free to practise his alchemy 
on the fruit the greater part of the day. The most 
favorable soil is a sandy loam, verging towards 
clay; and it should have been under cultivation 
sufficiently long to destroy all roots of grass and 
perennial weeds. Put on the fertilizer with a free 
hand. If it is barn-yard manure, the rate of sixty 



l6S THE HOME ACRE. 

tons to the acre is not in excess. A strawberry- 
plant has a large appetite and excellent digestion. 
It prefers decidedly manure from the cow-stable, 
though that from the horse-stable answers very 
well ; but it is not advisable to incorporate it with 
the soil in its raw, unfermented state, and then to 
plant immediately. The ground can scarcely be 
too rich for strawberries, but it may easily be over- 
heated and stimulated. In fertilizing, ever keep in 
mind the two great requisites, — moisture and cool- 
ness. Manure from the horse-stable, therefore, is 
almost doubled in value as well as bulk if com- 
posted with leaves, muck, or sods, and allowed to 
decay before being used. 

Next to enriching the soil, the most important 
step is to deepen it. If a plough is used, sink it to 
the beam, and run it twice in a furrow. If a lifting 
subsoil-plough can follow, all the better. Straw- 
berry roots have been traced two feet below the 
surface. 

If the situation of the plot does not admit the 
use of a plough, let the gardener begin at one side 
and trench the area to at least the depth of eigh- 
teen inches, taking pains to mix the surface, sub- 
soil, and fertilizer evenly and thoroughly. A 
small plot thus treated will yield as much as one 
three or four times as large. One of the chief 
advantages of thus deepening the soil is that the 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 69 

plants are insured against their worst enemy, — 
drought. How often I have seen beds in early 
June languishing for moisture, the fruit trusses 
lying on the ground, fainting under their burden, 
and the berries ripening prematurely into little 
more than diminutive collections of seeds ! When 
ground has been deepened as I have said, the 
drought must be almost unparalleled to arrest the 
development of the fruit. Even in the most fa- 
vorable seasons, hard, shallow soils give but a brief 
period of strawberries ; the fruit ripens all at once, 
and although the first berries may be of good size, 
the later ones dwindle until they are scarcely larger 
than peas. Be sure to have a deep, mellow soil 
beneath the plants. 

Such a bed can be made in either spring or 
fall, — indeed, at any time when the soil is free 
from frost, and neither too wet nor dry. I do not 
believe in preparing and fertilizing ground during 
a period of drought. 

We will suppose the work has been done in the 
spring, as early as the earth was dry enough to 
crumble freely, and that the surface of the bed is 
smooth, mellow, and ready for the plants. Stretch 
a garden line down the length of the plot two feet 
from the outer edge, and set the plants along the 
line one foot apart from each other. Let the roots 
be spread out, not buried in a mat, the earth 



170 THE HOME ACRE. 

pressed firmly against them, and the crown of the 
plant be exactly even with the surface of the soil, 
which should also be pressed closely around it 
with the fingers. This may seem minute detail, 
yet much dismal experience proves it to be essen- 
tial. I have employed scores of men, and the 
great majority at first would either bury the crowns 
out of sight, or else leave part of the roots exposed, 
and the remainder so loose in the soil that a sharp 
gale would blow the plants away. There is no one 
so economical of time as the hired man whose 
time is paid for. He is ever bent on saving a 
minute or half-minute in this kind of work. On 
one occasion I had to reset a good part of an acre 
on which my men had saved time in planting. If 
I had asked them to save the plants in the year of 
'Z6, they might have " struck." 

The first row having been set out, I advise that 
the line be moved forward three feet. This would 
make the rows three feet apart, — not too far in 
ground prepared as described, and in view of the 
subsequent method of cultivation. The bed may 
therefore be filled up in this ratio, the plants one 
foot apart in the row, and the rows three feet apart. 
The next point in my system, for the kind of soil 
named (for light, sandy soils another plan will be 
indicated), is to regard each plant as an individual 
that is to be developed to the utmost. Of course 



STRAWBERRIES. I71 

only young plants of the previous season's growth 
should be used. If a plant has old, woody, black 
roots, throw it away. Plants set out in April will 
begin to blossom in May. These buds and blos- 
soms should be picked off ruthlessly as soon as 
they appear. Never does avarice overreach itself 
more completely than when plants are permitted 
to bear the same season in which they are set out. 
The young, half-established plant is drained of its 
vitality in producing a little imperfect fruit; yet 
this is permitted even by farmers who would hold 
up their hands at the idea of harnessing a colt to 
a plough. 

The plants do not know anything about our 
purpose in regard to them. They merely seek to 
follow the law of Nature to propagate themselves, 
first by seeds which, strictly speaking, are the fruit, 
and then by runners. These slender, tendril-like 
growths begin to appear early in summer, and if 
left unchecked will mat the ground about the 
parent with young plants by late autumn. If we 
wish plants, let them grow by all means ; but if 
fruit is our object, why should we let them grow? 
** Because nearly every one seems to do it," would 
be, perhaps, the most rational answer. This is a 
mistake, for many are beginning to take just the 
opposite course even when growing strawberries 
by the acre. 



I'JI THE HOME ACRE. 

Let us fix our attention on a single plant. It 
has a certain amount of root pasturage and space 
in which to grow. Since it is not permitted to 
produce an indefinite number of young plants, it 
begins to develop itself. The soil is rich, the 
roots are busy, and there must be an outlet. 
The original plant cannot form others, and there- 
fore begins to produce fruit-crowns for the com- 
ing year. All the sap, all the increasing power 
of root and foliage, are directed to preparation for 
fruit. In brief, we have got the plant in traces ; it 
is pulling in the direction we wish : it will event- 
ually deliver a load of berries which would surprise 
those who trust simply to Nature unguided. 

Some one may object that this is a troublesome 
and expensive way of growing strawberries. Do 
not the facts in the case prove the reverse? A 
plant restricted to a single root can be hoed and 
worked around like a hill of corn or a currant-bush. 
With comparatively little trouble the ground be- 
tween the rows can be kept clean and mellow. 
Under the common system, which allows the run- 
ners to interlace and mat the ground, you soon 
have an almost endless amount of hand-weeding 
to do, and even this fails if white clover, sorrel, and 
certain grasses once get a start. The system I 
advocate forbids neglect ; the runners must be 
clipped off as fast as they appear, and they con- 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 73 

tinue to grow from June till frost; but the actual 
labor of the year is reduced to a minimum. A 
little boy or girl could keep a large bed clipped 
by the occasional use of a shears or knife before 
breakfast; and if the ground between the plants is 
free of runners, it can be hoed over in an hour. 
Considering, therefore, merely the trouble and ex- 
pense, the single-plant system has the facts in its 
favor. But our object is not to grow strawberry 
plants with the least trouble, but to have straw- 
berries of the largest and finest quality. 

In addition to ease and thoroughness of culti- 
vation, there are other important advantages. The 
single narrow row of plants is more easily pro- 
tected against winter's frosts. Light, strawy ma- 
nure from the horse-stable serves well for this 
purpose ; but it should be light and free from heat. 
I have seen beds destroyed by too heavy a cover- 
ing of chunky, rank manure. It is not our purpose 
to keep the beds and plants from freezing, but 
from alternately freezing and thawing. If snow 
fell on the bed in December and lasted till April, 
no other protection would be needed. Nature in 
this latitude has no sympathy for the careless man. 
During the winter of 1885, in January, and again in 
February and March, the ground was bare, unpro- 
tected plants were badly frozen, and in many in- 
stances lifted partly out of the ground by mid-day 



174 THE HOME ACRE. 

thawing and night freezing. The only safe course 
is to cover the rows thoroughly, but not heavily, 
early in December. If then light stable-manure 
is not at hand, leaves, old bean-vines, or any dry 
refuse from the garden not containing injurious 
seeds will answer. Do not employ asparagus-tops, 
which contain seed. Of course we want this vege- 
table, but not in the strawberry bed. Like some 
persons out of their proper sphere, asparagus may 
easily become a nuisance; and it will dispossess 
other growths of their rights and places as serenely 
as a Knight of Labor. The proper balance must 
be kept in the garden as well as in society; and 
therefore it is important to cover our plants with 
something that will not speedily become a usurper. 
Let it be a settled point, then, that the narrow rows 
must be covered thoroughly out of sight with some 
light material which will not rest with smothering 
weight on the plants or leave among them injurious 
seeds. Light stable-manure is often objected to 
for the reason that employing it is like sowing the 
ground with grass-seed. If the plants had been 
allowed to grow in matted beds, I would not use 
this material for a winter covering, unless it had 
been allowed to heat sufficiently to destroy the 
grass and clover seed contained in it. I have 
seen matted beds protected with stable-manure 
that were fit to mow by June, the plants and 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 75 

fruit having been overrun with grass. No such 
result need follow if the plants are cultivated in a 
single line, for then the manure can be raked off 
in early spring, — first of April in our latitude, — 
and the ground cultivated. There is a great ad- 
vantage in employing light manure if the system 
I advocate is followed, for the melting snows and 
rains carry the richness of the fertilizer to the roots, 
and winter protection serves a double purpose. 

We will now consider the proper management 
for the second year, when a full crop should be 
yielded. I know that many authorities frown upon 
cultivation during the second spring, before plants 
bear their fruit. I cannot agree with this view, 
except in regard to very light soils, and look upon 
it as a relic of the old theory that sandy land was 
the best for strawberries. Take the soil under 
consideration, a sandy loam, for instance. After 
the frost is out, the earth settled, and the winter 
covering raked off, the soil under the spring sun 
grows hard, and by June is almost as solid as 
a road-bed. Every one knows that land in such 
condition suffers tenfold more severely from 
drought than if it were light and mellow from 
cultivation. Perennial weeds that sprouted late in 
the fall or early spring get a start, and by fruit- 
ing-time are rampant I do advocate early spring 
cultivation, and by it I almost double my crop, 



1/6 THE HOME ACRE. 

while at the same time maintaining a mastery over 
the weeds. 

As soon as the severe frosts are over, in April, 
I rake the coarsest of the stable-manure from the 
plants, leaving the finer and decayed portions as a 
fertilizer. Then, when the ground is dry enough 
to work, I have a man weed out the rows, and if 
there are vacant spaces, fill in the rows with young 
plants. The man then forks the ground lightly 
between the rows, and stirs the surface merely 
among the plants. Thus all the hard, sodden 
surface is loosened or scarified, and opened to the 
reception of air and light, dew and rain. The man 
is charged emphatically that in this cultivation he 
must not lift the plants or disturb the roots to any 
extent. If I find a plant with its hold upon the 
ground loosened, I know there has been careless 
work. Before digging along the row the fork is 
sunk beside the plants to prevent the soil from 
lifting in cakes, and the plants with them. In 
brief, pains are taken that the plants should be 
just as firm in the soil after cultivation as before. 
Let the reader carefully observe that this work 
is done early in April, while the plants are com- 
paratively dormant. Most emphatically it should 
not be done in May, after the blossoms begin to 
appear. If the bed has been neglected till that 
time, the surface merely can be cultivated with a 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 77 

hoe. When the plants have approached so near 
to the fruiting, the roots must not be disturbed at 
all. Early cultivation gives time for new roots to 
grow, and stimulates such growth. Where the 
rows are sufficiently long, and the ground permits 
it, this early loosening of the soil is accomplished 
with a horse-cultivator better than with a fork, the 
hoe following and levelling the soil and taking out 
all weeds. 

My next step during the second season is to 
mulch the plants, in order to keep the fruit clean. 
Without this mulch the fruit is usually unfit for 
the table. A dashing shower splashes the berries 
with mud and grit, and the fruit must be washed 
before it is eaten ; and strawberries with their sun- 
bestowed beauty and flavor washed away are as 
ridiculous as is mere noise from musical instru- 
ments. To be content with such fruit is like valu- 
ing pictures by the number of square inches of 
canvas ! In perfecting a strawberry. Nature gives 
some of her finest touches, and it is not well to 
obliterate them with either mud or water. Any 
light clean material will keep the fruit clean. I 
have found spring rakings of the lawn — mingled 
dead grass and leaves — one of the best. Leaves 
from a grove would answer, were it not for their 
blowing about in an untidy way. Of course there 
is nothing better than straw for the strawberry; but 

12 



1/8 THE HOME ACRE. 

this often costs as much as hay. Any clean Htter 
that will lie close to the ground and can be pushed 
up under the plants will answer. Nor should it 
be merely under the plants. A man once mulched 
my rows in such a way that the fruit hung over 
the litter on the soil beyond. A little common- 
sense will meet the requirement of keeping the 
berries well away from the loose soil, while at the 
same time preserving a neat aspect to the bed. 
Pine-needles and salt-hay are used where these 
materials are abundant. 

Make it a rule to mulch as soon as possible after 
the plants begin to blossom, and also after a good 
soaking rain. In this case the litter keeps the 
ground moist. If the soil immediately about the 
plants is covered when dry, the mulch may keep 
it dry, — to the great detriment of the forming 
berries. It is usually best to put on the mulch as 
soon as the early cultivation is over in April, and 
then the bed may be left till the fruit is picked. 
Of course it may be necessary to pull out some 
rank-growing weeds from time to time. If the 
hired man is left to do the mulching very late in 
the season, he will probably cover much of the 
green fruit and blossoms as well as the ground. 

After the berries have been picked, the remain- 
ing treatment of the year is very simple. Rake 
out the mulch, cultivate the soil, and keep the plants 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 79 

free of weeds and runners as during the previous 
year. Before hard freezing weather, protect again 
as before, and give the plants similar treatment 
the following spring and summer. Under this 
system the same plants may be kept in bearing 
three, four, and five years, according to the va- 
riety. Some kinds maintain their vigor longer 
than others. After the first year the disposition 
to run declines, and with the third year, in most 
instances, deterioration in the plant itself begins. 
I would therefore advise that under this system a 
new bed be made, as described, every third year; 
for, it should be remembered, the new bed is un- 
productive the first year. This should never be 
forgotten if one would maintain a continuous 
supply of berries, otherwise he will be like those 
born on the 29th of February, and have only 
occasional birthdays. 

If the old bed is just where you wish, and has 
been prepared in the thorough manner described, 
it can be renewed in the following manner : When 
the old plants begin to decline in vigor, — say the 
third or fourth spring, — a line of well-decayed com- 
post and manure from the cow-stable a foot wide 
maybe spread thickly down between the rows, dug 
under deeply, and young plants set out just over 
the fertilizer. The old plants can be treated as 
has already been described, and as soon as the^^ 



l80 THE HOME ACRE. 

are through bearing, dug under. This would leave 
the young plants in full possession of the ground, 
and the cultivation and management for three 
or more years would go on as already directed. 
This course involves no loss of time or change of 
ground for a long period. If, however, a new bed 
can be made somewhere else, the plants will thrive 
better upon it. Unless there are serious objec- 
tions, a change of ground is always advantageous ; 
for no matter how lavishly the plot is enriched, 
the strawberry appears to' exhaust certain required 
constituents in the soil. Continued vigor is better 
maintained by wood-ashes perhaps than by any 
other fertilizer, after the soil is once deepened and 
enriched, and it may be regarded as one of the 
very best tonics for the strawberry plant. Bone- 
meal is almost equally good. Guano and kindred 
fertilizers are too stimulating, and have not the 
staying qualities required. 

As has been intimated before, the strawberry 
bed may often be so located on the Home Acre as 
to permit of irrigation. This does not mean 
sprinkling and splattering with water, but the con- 
tinuous maintenance of abundant moisture during 
the critical period from the time the fruit begins 
to form until it ripens. Partial watering during a 
drought is very injurious ; so also would be too 
frequent watering. If the ground could be soaked 



STRAWBERRIES. l8l 

twice a week in the evening, and then left to the 
hardening and maturing influence of the sun and 
wind, the finest results would be secured. I am 
satisfied that in most localities the size of the ber- 
ries and the number of quarts produced might be 
doubled by judicious irrigation. 

The system given above applies not only to 
sandy loam, but also to all varieties of clay, even 
the most stubborn. In the latter instance it would 
be well to employ stable-manure in the initial en- 
riching, for this would tend to Hghten and warm 
the soil. Care must also be exercised in not work- 
ing clay when it is too wet or too dry. Mulch also 
plays an important part on heavy clay, for it pre- 
vents the soil from baking and cracking. One of 
the best methods of preventing this is to top-dress 
the ground with stable-manure, and hoe it in from 
time to time when fighting the weeds. This keeps 
the surface open and mellow, — a vital necessity for 
vigorous growth. Few plants will thrive when the 
surface is hard and baked. Nevertheless, if I had 
to choose between heavy clay and light sand for 
strawberries, I should much prefer the clay. On 
the last-named soil an abundant winter protection 
is absolutely necessary, or else the plants will 
freeze entirely out of the ground. 

The native strain of cultivated strawberries has 
so much vigor and power of adaptation that plenty 



1 82 THE HOME ACRE. 

of excellent varieties can be grown on the lightest 
soil. In this instance, however, we would suggest 
important modifications in preparation and cul- 
ture. The soil, as has been already shown, must 
be treated like a spendthrift. Deep ploughing or 
spading should be avoided, as the subsoil is too 
loose and leachy already. The initial enriching of 
the bed should be generous, but not lavish. You 
cannot deposit fertilizers for long-continued use. 
I should prefer to harrow or rake in the manure, 
leaving it near the surface. The rains will carry 
it down fast enough. One of the very best meth- 
ods is to open furrows, three feet apart, with a 
light corn-plough, half fill them with decayed com- 
post, again run the plough through to mix the 
fertilizer with the soil, then level the ground, and 
set out the plants immediately over the manure. 
They thus get the benefit of it before it can leach 
away. The accomplished horticulturist Mr. P. T. 
Ouinn, of Newark, N. J., has achieved remarkable 
success by this plan. 

It is a well-known fact that on light land straw- 
berry plants are not so long-lived and do not 
develop, or " stool out," as it is termed, as on 
heavier land. In order to secure the largest and 
best possible crop, therefore, I should not advise 
a single line of plants, but rather a narrow bed of 
plants, say eighteen inches wide, leaving eighteen 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 83 

inches for a walk. I would not allow this bed to 
be matted with an indefinite number of little plants 
crowding each other into feeble life, but would 
leave only those runners which had taken root 
early, and destroy the rest. A plant which forms 
in June and the first weeks in July has time to 
mature good-sized fruit-buds before winter, espe- 
cially if given space in which to develop. This, 
however, would be impossible if the runners were 
allowed to sod the ground thickly. In principle I 
would carry out the first system, and give each 
plant space in which to grow upon its own root as 
large as it naturally would in a light soil, and I 
would have a sufficient number of plants to supply 
the deficiency in growth. On good, loamy soil, 
the foliage of single lines of plants,' three feet apart, 
will grow so large as to touch across the spaces; 
but this could scarcely be expected on light soil 
unless irrigation were combined with great fertility. 
Nevertheless, a bed with plants standing not too 
thickly upon it will give an abundance of superb 
fruit. 

Strawberries grown in beds may not require so 
much spring mulching to keep the fruit clean, but 
should carefully receive all that is needed. Winter 
protection also is not so indispensable as on heavier 
soils, but it always well repays. A thick bed of 
plants should never be protected by any kind of 



1 84 THE HOME ACRE. 

litter which would leave seeds of various kinds, for 
under this system of culture weeds must be taken 
out by hand ; and this is always slow, back-aching 
work. 

When plants are grown in beds it does not pay 
to continue them after fruiting the third year. 
For instance, they are set out in spring, and during 
the first season they are permitted to make a lim- 
ited number of runners, and prepare to fruit the 
following year. After the berries are picked 
the third year, dig the plants under, and occupy 
the ground with something else. On light soils, 
and where the plants are grown in beds instead of 
narrow rows, new beds should be set out every 
alternate year. 

In order to have an abundant supply of young 
plants it is only necessary to let one end of a row 
or a small portion of a bed run at will. Then new 
plants can be set out as desired. 

While more strawberries are planted in spring 
than at any other time, certain advantages are 
secured by summer and fall setting. This is espe- 
cially true of gardens wherein early crops are ma- 
turing, leaving the ground vacant. For instance, 
there are areas from which early peas, beans, or 
potatoes have been gathered. Suppose such a 
plot is ready for something else in July or August, 
the earlier the better. Unless the ground is very 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 85 

dry, a bed can be prepared as has been described. 
If the soil is in good condition, rich and deep, it 
can be dug thoroughly, and the plants set out at 
once in the cool of the evening, or just before a 
shower. During the hot season a great advantage 
is secured if the plants are set immediately after 
the ground is prepared, and while the surface is 
still moist. It is unfortunate if ground is made 
ready and then permitted to dry out before plant- 
ing takes place, for watering, no matter how 
thorough, has not so good an influence in start- 
ing new growth as the natural moisture of the soil. 
It would be better, therefore, to dig the ground 
late in the afternoon, and set out the plants the 
same evening. Watering, however, should never 
be dispensed with during warm weather, unless 
there is a certainty of rain ; and even then it does 
no harm. 

Suppose one wishes to set a new bed in July. 
If he has strawberries growing on his place, his 
course would be to let some of his favorite varie- 
ties make new runners as early as possible. These 
should be well-rooted young plants by the middle 
of the month. After the new ground is prepared, 
these can be taken up, with a ball of earth attached 
to their roots, and carried carefully to their new 
starting-place. If they are removed so gently as 
not to shake off the earth from the roots, they will 



1 86 THE HOME ACRE. 

not know that they have been moved, but continue 
to thrive without wilting a leaf. If such transplant- 
ing is done immediatelyafter a soaking rain, the soil 
will cling to the roots so tenaciously as to insure a 
transfer that will not cause any check of growth. 
But it is not necessary to wait for rain. At five in 
the afternoon soak with water the ground in which 
the young plants are standing, and by six o'clock 
you can take up the plants with their roots encased 
in clinging earth, just as successfully as after a 
rain. Plants thus transferred, and watered after 
being set out, will not wilt, although the ther- 
mometer is in the nineties the following day. If 
young plants are scarce, take up the strongest and 
best-rooted ones, and leave the runner attached ; 
set out such plants with their balls of earth four 
feet apart in the row, and with a lump of earth 
fasten down the runners along the line. Within a 
month these runners will fill up the new rows as 
closely as desirable. Then all propagation in the 
new beds should be checked, and the plants com- 
pelled to develop for fruiting in the coming season. 
In this latitude a plant thus transferred in July or 
August will bear a very good crop the following 
June, and the berries will probably be larger than in 
the following years. This tendency to produce very 
large fruit is characteristic of young plants set out 
in summer. It thus may be seen that plants set in 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 8/ 

spring cannot produce a good crop of fruit under 
about fourteen months, while others, set in sum- 
mer, will yield in nine or ten months. I have set 
out many acres in summer and early autumn with 
the most satisfactory results. Thereafter the plants 
were treated in precisely the same manner as those 
set in spring. 

If the plants must be bought and transported 
from a distance during hot weather, I should not 
advise the purchase of any except those grown in 
pots. Nurserymen have made us familiar with 
pot-grown plants, for we fill our flower-beds with 
them. In like manner strawberry plants are grown 
and sold. Little pots, three inches across at the 
top, are sunk in the earth along a strawberry row, 
and the rnnners so fastened down that they take 
root in these pots. In about two weeks the young 
plant will fill a pot with roots. It may then be 
severed from the parent, and transported almost 
any distance, like a verbena. Usually the ball of 
earth and roots is separated from the pot, and is 
then wrapped in paper before being packed in the 
shallow box employed for shipping purposes. A 
nurseryman once distributed in a summer through- 
out the country a hundred thousand plants of one 
variety grown in this manner. The earth encasing 
the roots sustained the plants during transpor- 
tation and after setting sufficiently to prevent any 



1 88 THE HOME ACRE. 

loss worth mentioning. This method of the plant- 
grower can easily be employed on the Home Acre. 
Pots filled with earth may be sunk along the straw- 
berry rows In the garden, the runners made to 
root in them, and from them transferred to any 
part of the garden wherein we propose to make a 
new bed. It is only a neater and more certain 
way of removing young plants with a ball of earth 
from the open bed. 

Some have adopted this system in raising straw- 
berries for market. They prepare very rich beds, 
fill them with pot-grown plants In June or July, 
take from these plants one crop the following June, 
then plough them under. As a rule, however, 
such plants cannot be bought in quantities before 
August or September. 

As we go south, September, October, or No- 
vember, according to lowness of latitude, are the 
favorite months for planting. I have had excel- 
lent success on the Hudson in late autumn plant- 
ing. My method has been to cover the young 
plants, just before the ground froze, with two or 
three Inches of clean earth, and then to rake it off 
again early in April, The roots of such plants 
become thoroughly established during the winter, 
and start with double vigor. Plants set out In late 
autumn do best on light, dry soils. On heavy 
soils they will be frozen out unless well covered. 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 89 

They should not be allowed to bear the following 
season. A late-set plant cannot before winter in 
our climate become strong and sturdy enough to 
produce much fruit the following season. I make 
it a rule not to permit plants set out after the first 
of October to bear fruit until a year from the fol- 
lowing June. 

In setting out plants, the principle of sex should 
be remembered. The majority of our favorite 
varieties are bisexual ; that is, the blossoms are fur- 
nished with both stamens and pistils. A variety 
with this organization, as the Sharpless, for instance, 
will bear alone with no other kind near it. But if 
one set out a bed of Champions — another fine va- 
riety — well apart from any staminate kind, it would 
blossom profusely, but produce no fruit. When I 
was a boy, Hovey's Seedling was the great straw- 
berry of the day, and marvellous stories were told 
of the productiveness of the plants and the size of 
the berries. How well I remember the disappoint- 
ment and wrath of people who bought the plants 
at a high price, and set them out with no staminate 
varieties near to fertilize the pistillate blossoms ! 
Expectations were raised to the highest pitch by 
profuse blossoming in May, but not a berry could 
be found the ensuing June. The vigorous plants 
were only a mockery, and the people who sold 
them were berated as humbugs. To-day the most 



190 THE HOME ACRE. 

highly praised strawberry is the Jewell. The origi- 
nator, Mr. P. M. Augur, writes me that " plants 
set two feet by eighteen inches apart, August i, 
1884, in June, 1885, completely covered the ground, 
touching both ways, and averaged little over a 
quart to the plant for the entire patch." All run- 
ners were kept off, in accordance with the system 
advocated in this paper. *' At Boston a silver 
medal was awarded to this variety as the best new 
strawberry introduced within five years." People 
reading such laudation — well deserved, I believe 
— might conclude the best is good enough for us, 
and send for enough Jewell plants to set out a bed. 
If they set no others near it, their experience 
would be similar to that which I witnessed in the 
case of Hovey's Seedling thirty odd years ago. 
The blossom of the Jewell contains pistils only, 
and will produce no fruit unless a staminate variety 
is planted near. I have never considered this an 
objection against a variety; for why should any 
one wish to raise only one variety of strawberry? 
All danger of barrenness in pistillate kinds is 
removed absolutely by planting staminate sorts in 
the same bed. In nurserymen's catalogues pistil- 
late varieties are marked " P.," and the purchaser 
has merely to set out the plants within a few feet 
of some perfect flowering kind to secure abundant 
fruit. 



STRAWBERRIES. 19I 

As a result of much experience, I will now make 
some suggestions as to varieties. In a former 
paper I have given the opinions of others upon 
this important subject, and one can follow the 
advice of such eminent authorities without mis- 
giving. The earliest strawberry that I have ever 
raised, and one of the best flavored, is the Crystal 
City. It is evidently a wild variety domesticated, 
and it has the exquisite flavor and perfume of the 
field berry. It rarely fails to give us fruit in May, 
and my children, with the unerring taste of con- 
noisseurs, follow it up until the last berry is picked. 
It would run all over the garden unchecked ; and 
this propensity must be severely curbed to render 
a bed productive. Keeping earliness and high 
flavor in view, I would next recommend the Black 
Defiance. It is not remarkably productive on 
many soils, but the fruit is so delicious that it well 
deserves a place. The Duchess and Bidwell fol- 
low in the order of ripening. On my grounds they 
have always made enormous plants, and yielded an 
abundance of good-flavored berries. The Down- 
ing is early to medium in the season of ripening, 
and should be in every collection. The Indiana is 
said to resemble this kind, and to be an improve- 
ment upon it. Miner's Prolific is another kindred 
berry, and a most excellent one. Among the 



192 THE HOME ACRE. 

latest berries I recommend the Sharpless, Cham- 
pion, or Windsor Chief, and Parry. If one wishes 
to raise a very large, late, showy berry, let him 
try the Longfellow. The Cornelia is said to grow 
very large and ripen late, but I have not yet fruited 
it. As I said fifteen or twenty years ago, if I 
were restricted to but one variety, I should choose 
the Triomphe de Gand, a foreign kind, but well 
adapted to rich, heavy soils. The berries begin to 
ripen early, and last very late. The Memphis 
Late has always been the last to mature on my 
grounds, and, like the Crystal City, is either a wild 
variety, or else but slightly removed. The Wilson 
is the great berry of commerce. It is not ripe 
when it is red, and therefore is rarely eaten in per- 
fection. Let it get almost black in its ripeness, 
and it is one of the richest berries in existence. 
With a liberal allowance of sugar and cream, it 
makes a dish much too good for an average king. 
It is also the best variety for preserving. 

It should be remembered that all strawberries, 
unlike pears, should be allowed to mature fully 
before being picked. Many a variety is condemned 
because the fruit is eaten prematurely. There is 
no richer berry in existence than the Windsor 
Chief, yet the fruit, when merely red, is decidedly 
disagreeable. 



STRAWBERRIES. 1 93 

The reader can now make a selection of kinds 
which should give him six weeks of strawberries. 
At the same time he must be warned that plants 
growing in a hard, dry, poor soil, and in matted 
beds, yield their fruit almost together, no matter 
how many varieties may have been set out. Under 
such conditions the strawberry season is brief 
indeed. 

While I was writing this paper the chief enemy 
of the strawberry came blundering and bumping 
about my lamp, — the May beetle. The larva of 
this insect, the well-known white grub, has an 
insatiable appetite for strawberry roots, and in 
some localities and seasons is very destructive. One 
year I lost at least one hundred thousand plants 
by this pest. This beetle does not often lay its 
egg in well-cultivated ground, and we may reason- 
ably hope to escape its ravages in a garden. If, 
when preparing for a bed, many white grubs are 
found in the soil, I should certainly advise that 
another locality be chosen. The only remedy is 
to dig out the larvae and kill them. If you find a 
plant wilting without apparent cause, you may be 
sure that a grub is feeding on the roots. The 
strawberry plant is comparatively free from in- 
sect enemies and disease, and rarely disappoints 
any one who gives it a tithe of the attention it 
deserves. 

13 



194 THE HOME ACRE. 

There are many points in ccnnection with this 
fruit which, in a small treatise like this, must be 
merely touched upon or omitted altogether. I may 
refer those who wish to study the subject more 
thoroughly to my work, " Success with Small 
Fruits." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 



THE garden should be open to the sky, and 
as far as possible unshaded by adjacent 
trees from the morning and afternoon sun. It is 
even more essential that the trees be not so near 
that their voracious roots can make their way to 
the rich loam of the garden. 

Now for the soil. We should naturally suppose 
that that of Eden was a deep sandy loam, with not 
too porous a subsoil. As we have already seen 
again and again, such a soil appears to be the lab- 
oratory in which we can assist Nature to develop 
her best products. But Nature has a profound 
respect for skill, and when she recognizes it, "lends 
a hand " in securing excellent crops from almost 
drifting sand or stubborn clay. She has even as- 
sisted the Hollander in wresting from the ocean 
one of the gardens of the world. 

We must again dwell on the principles already 
emphasized, that soils must be treated according 
to their nature. If too damp, they must be drained ; 
if of the fortunate quality of a sandy loam resting 



196 THE HOME ACRE. 

on a clay subsoil, they can be abundantly deep- 
ened and enriched from the start; if of a heavy 
clay, inclined to be cold and wet in spring, and to 
bake and crack in summer, skill should aim to 
lighten it and remove its inertia; finally, as we 
have shown, a light, porous soil should be treated 
like a spendthrift. All soils, except the last-named, 
are much the better for being enriched and deeply 
ploughed or forked in October or November. 
This exposes the mould to the sweetening and 
mechanical action of frost, and the fertilizers in- 
corporated with it are gradually transformed into 
just that condition of plant food which the root- 
lets take up with the greatest ease and rapidity. 
A light soil, on the contrary, should not be worked 
in autumn, but be left intact after the crops are 
taken from it. 

In one respect a light soil and a stiff, heavy one 
should be treated in the same way, but for different 
reasons. In the first instance, fertilizers should be 
applied in moderation to the surface, and rains and 
the cultivation of the growing crops depended up- 
on to carry the richness downward to the roots. 
The porous nature of the earth must ever be borne 
in mind ; fertilizers pass through it and disappear, 
and therefore are applied to the surface to d-elay 
this process and enable the roots to obtain as much 
nutriment as possible during the passage. Equal 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 197 

and even greater advantages are secured by a top- 
dressing of barn-yard manures and composts to 
the heaviest of clay. The surface of such soils, 
left to Nature, becomes in hot, dry weather like 
pottery, baking and cracking, shielding from dew 
and shower, and preventing all circulation of air 
about the roots. A top-dressing prevents all this, 
keeps the surface open and mellow, and supplies 
not only fertility, but the mechanical conditions 
that are essential. 

If we are now ready to begin, let us begin right. 
I have not much sympathy with finical, fussy gar- 
dening. One of the chief fascinations of garden- 
ing is the endless field it affords for skilful sleight 
of hand, short-cuts, unconventional methods, and 
experiments. The true gardener soon ceases to be 
a man of rules, and becomes one of strategy, of 
expedients. He is prompt to act at the right 
moment. Like the artist, he is ever seeking and 
acting upon hints from Nature. The man of rules 
says the first of July is the time to set out winter 
cabbage ; and out the plants go, though the sky be 
brazen, and the mercury in the nineties. The gar- 
dener has his plants ready, and for a few days 
watches the sky. At last he perceives that rain 
is coming; then he sets out his plants, and Na- 
ture's watering starts them, unwilted, on their new 
growth. 



198 THE HOME ACRE. 

At the same time I protest against careless, 
slovenly gardening, — ground imperfectly prepared, 
crooked rows, seed half covered, or covered so 
deeply that the germs are discouraged long before 
they reach light. One of the best aids to success 
is a small compost-heap composed equally of ma- 
nure from the horse-stable, the cow-stable, and of 
leaves. This should be allowed to stand so long, and 
be cut down and turned so often, that it becomes 
like a fine black powder, and is much the better 
for being kept under shelter from sun and rain. 

All who hope to have a permanent garden will 
naturally think first of asparagus, — one of the 
vegetables that have been longest in cultivation, 
and one which is justly among the most valued. 
It was cultivated hundreds of years before the 
Christian era, and is to-day growing in popular 
esteem among civilized peoples. 

In the matter of preparation I shall take issue 
with many of the authorities. I have read and 
known of instances wherein extraordinary expense 
and pains have been bestowed upon the asparagus- 
bed. The soil has been dug out to the depth of 
two or more feet, the bottom paved, and the 
homely, hardy roots, accustomed to roughing it 
the world over, set out and tended with a care 
which, if given to a potato, would make it open its 
eyes. There are few more hardy or widely dis- 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 1 99 

tributed species of vegetables than asparagus. It 
is " a native of the sea-coasts of various countries 
of Europe and Asia." According to Loudon, it is 
abundant on the sandy steppes in the interior of 
Russia. In Southern Russia and Poland the horses 
and cows feed upon it. It grows freely in the fens 
of Lincolnshire, and is indigenous to Cornwall. 
On the borders of the Euphrates the shoots are 
so extraordinarily large and vigorous that Thomp- 
son thinks it would be to the advantage of gar- 
deners to import roots from that region. These 
facts may indicate that too much stress may have 
been laid on its character as a marine plant. Yet 
it is true that it grows naturally on the coast of 
Holland, in the sandy valleys and on the downs, 
while off Lizard Point it flourishes naturally on an 
island where, in gales, the sea breaks over the 
roots. In this country also it has escaped cultiva- 
tion, and is establishing itself along our coasts. 
The truth is that it is a plant endowed with a re- 
markable power of adaptation to all soils and cli- 
mates, and does not need the extravagant petting 
often given it. On different portions of my place 
chance seeds have fallen, and annually produce 
almost as fine heads as are cut from the garden. 
Nature therefore teaches what experience verifies, 
— that asparagus is one of the most easily grown 
and inexpensive vegetables of the garden. From 



200 THE HOME ACRE. 

two small beds we have raised during the past eight 
years twice as much as we could use, and at the 
cost of very little trouble either in planting or 
cultivation. 

In my effort to show, from the hardy nature of 
the asparagus plant, that extravagant preparation 
is unnecessary, let no one conclude that I am op- 
posed to a good, thorough preparation that accords 
with common-sense. It is not for one year's crop 
that you are preparing, but for a vegetable that 
should be productive on the same ground thirty or 
forty years. What I said of strawberries applies 
here. A fair yield of fruit may be expected from 
plants set out on ordinary corn-ground, but more 
than double the crop would be secured from 
ground generously prepared. 

When I first came to Cornwall, about twelve 
years ago, I determined to have an asparagus bed 
as soon as possible. I selected a plot eighty feet 
long by thirty wide, of sandy loam, sloping to 
the southwest. It had been used as a garden 
before, but was greatly impoverished. I gave it 
a good top-dressing of barn-yard manure in the 
autumn, and ploughed it deeply; another top- 
dressing of fine yard manure and a deep forking 
in the early spring. Then, raking the surface 
smooth, I set a line along its length on one side. 
A man took a spade, sunk its length in the soil, 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 201 

and pushed it forward strongly. This action made 
an almost perpendicular wedge-shaped aperture 
just back of the spade. The asparagus plant, with 
its roots spread out fan-shape, was sunk in this 
opening to a depth that left the crown of the plant 
between three and four inches below the surface. 
Then the spade was drawn out, and the soil left to 
fall over the crown of the plant. Rapidly repeat- 
ing this simple process, the whole plot was soon 
set out. The entire bed was then raked smooth. 
The rows were three feet apart, and plants one foot 
apart in the row. A similar plot could scarcely 
have been planted with potatoes more quickly or 
at less expense, and a good crop of potatoes could 
not have been raised on that poor land with less 
preparation. A few years later I made another 
and smaller bed in the same way. The results 
have been entirely satisfactory. I secured my 
object, and had plenty of asparagus at slight cost, 
and have also sold and given away large quantities. 
A bit of experience is often worth much more than 
theory. 

At the same time it is proper that some sugges- 
tions should follow this brief record. The aspara- 
gus bed should be in well-drained soil ; for while 
the plant will grow on wet land, it will start late, 
and our aim is to have it early. 

Again, with asparagus as with nearly everything 



202 THE HOME ACRE. 

else, the deeper and richer the soil, the larger and 
more luxuriant the crop. Listen to Thompson, 
the great English gardener: " If the ground has 
been drained, trenched, or made good to the depth 
of tJiree feet, as directed for the kitchen-garden 
generally [ !], that depth will suffice for the growth 
of asparagus." We should think so ; yet I am fast 
reaching the conclusion that under most circum- 
stances it would in the end repay us to secure that 
depth of rich soil throughout our gardens, not only 
for asparagus, but for everything else. Few of 
the hasty, slipshod gardeners of America have any 
idea of the results secured by extending root pas- 
turage to the depth of three feet instead of six or 
seven inches; soil thus prepared would defy flood 
and drought, and everything planted therein would 
attain almost perfection, asparagus included. But 
who has not seen little gardens by the road-side in 
which all the esculents seemed growing together 
much as they would be blended in the pot there- 
after? Yet from such patches, half snatched from 
barrenness, many a hearty, wholesome dinner re- 
sults. Let us have a garden at once, then improve 
it indefinitely. 

I will give in brief just what is essential to secure 
a good and lasting asparagus bed. We can if we 
choose grow our own plants, and thus be sure of 
good ones. The seed can be sown in late October 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 203 

or early spring on light, rich soil in rows eighteen 
inches apart. An ounce of seed will sow fifty 
feet of drill. If the soil is light, cover the seed one 
inch deep; if heavy, half an inch; pack the ground 
lightly, and cover the drill with a good dusting of 
that fine compost we spoke of, or any fine manure. 
This gives the young plants a good send-off. By 
the use of the hoe and hand-weeding keep them 
scrupulously clean during the growing season, and 
when the tops are killed by frost mow them off. 
I should advise sowing two or three seeds to the 
inch, and then when the plants are three inches 
high, thinning them out so that they stand four 
inches apart. You thus insure almost the cer- 
tainty of good strong plants by autumn ; for plants 
raised as directed are ready to be set out after 
one season's growth, and by most gardeners are 
preferred. 

In most instances good plants can be bought for 
a small sum from nurserymen, who usually offer 
for sale those that are two years old. Strong one- 
year-olds are just as good, but under ordinary cul- 
ture are rarely large enough until two years of age. 
I would not set out three-year-old plants, for they 
are apt to be stunted and enfeebled. You can 
easily calculate how many plants you require by 
rembering that the rows are to be three feet apart, 
and the plants one foot apart in the row. 



204 I'HE HOME ACRE. 

Now, whether you have raised the plants your- 
self, or have bought them, you are ready to put 
them where they will grow, and yield to the end 
of your life probably. Again I substantiate my 
position by quoting from the well-known gardener 
and writer, Mr. Joseph Harris: "The old direc- 
tions for planting an asparagus bed were well cal- 
culated to deter any one from making the attempt. 
I can recollect the first I made. The labor and 
manure must have cost at the rate of a thousand 
dollars an acre, and, after all was done, no better 
results were obtained than we now secure at one 
tenth of the expense." 

If the ground selected for the bed is a well- 
drained sandy loam, is clean, free from sod, roots, 
stones, etc., 1 would give it a top-dressing of six 
inches of good barn-yard manure, which by trench- 
ing or ploughing I would thoroughly mix with the 
soil to the depth of at least two feet. If the ground 
is not free from stones, roots, and sod, I should put 
on the manure, as directed, in the autumn, and be- 
gin on one side of the prospective bed and trench 
it all over, mingling the fertilizer through the soil. 
The trencher can throw out on the surface back of 
him every stone, root, and weed, so that by the 
time he is through there is a sufficient space of 
ground amply prepared. 

On all soils except a wet, heavy clay I prefer 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 20$ 

autumn planting. During the latter part of Octo- 
ber or early November put in the plants as ex- 
plained above, or else make a straight trench that 
will give room for the spreading of the roots, and 
leave the crowns between three and four inches 
below the surface. Then level the ground, and 
cover the row with a light mulch of stable-manure 
as you would strawberries. If more convenient to 
set out the plants in spring, do so as soon as the 
ground is dry enough to crumble freely when 
worked. In the spring rake off the mulch, and as 
early as possible fork the ground over lightly, tak- 
ing pains not to touch or wound the crowns of the 
plants. The young, slender shoots will soon ap- 
pear, and slender enough they will be at first. 
Keep them free of weeds and let them grow uncut 
all through the first year; mow off the tops in late 
October, and cover the entire bed with three or 
four inches of coarse barn-yard manure. In spring 
rake off the coarsest of this mulch, from which the 
rains and melting snows have been carrying down 
richness, dig the bed over lightly once (never 
wounding the roots or crowns of the plants), and 
then sow salt over the bed till it is barely white. 
Let the tops grow naturally and uncut the second 
year, and merely keep clean. Take precisely the 
same action again in the autumn and the following 
spring. During the latter part of April and May 



206 THE HOME ACRE. 

a few of the strongest shoots may be cut for the 
table. This should be done with a sharp knife a 
little below the surface, so that the soil may heal 
the wound, and carefully, lest other heads just 
beneath the surface be clipped prematurely. 
Cut from the bed very sparingly, however, the 
third year, and let vigorous foliage form corres- 
ponding root-power. In the autumn of the third 
and the spring of the fourth year the treatment is 
precisely the same. In the fourth season, how- 
ever, the shoots may be used freely to, say, about 
June 20, after which the plants should be permitted 
to grow unchecked till fall, in order to maintain 
and increase the root-power. Every year there- 
after there should be an abundant top-dressing of 
manure in the fall, and a careful digging of the 
ground in the early spring. 

Light, sandy soil, clear of stones, is well adapted 
to asparagus, but should be treated on the prin- 
ciples already indicated in this work. There 
should be no attempt, by trenching, to render a 
porous subsoil more leaky. It is useless to give 
the bed a thorough initial enriching. Put on a 
generous top-dressing every autumn and leave the 
rains to do their work, and good crops will result. 

If, on the contrary, a cold, heavy clay must be 
dealt with, every effort should be made to amelio- 
rate it. Work in a large quantity of sand at first, 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 20/ 

if possible ; employ manures from the horse-stable, 
or other light and exciting fertilizers, and there 
will be no failure. 

In regard to the use of salt, Mr. Harris writes: 
" It is a popular notion that common salt is ex- 
ceedingly beneficial to asparagus. I do not know 
that there is any positive proof of this, but, at any 
rate, salt will do no harm, even if applied thick 
enough to kill many of our common weeds. Salt 
is usually sown broadcast, at the rate of ten bushels 
to the acre." 

Until recently I have grown asparagus without 
salt. Hereafter I shall employ it in sufficient de- 
gree to kill all weeds except the strongest. I shall 
sow it every spring after the bed is dug until the 
ground is as white as if a flurry of snow had passed 
over it. I think salt is a good manure for aspara- 
gus, and many other things. At any rate, we 
secure a great advantage in keeping our beds free 
of weeds. 

I have wTitten thus fully of asparagus because 
when a man makes a bed as directed he makes it 
for a lifetime. He can scarcely find another in- 
vestment that will yield a larger return. We have 
asparagus on our table every day, from the middle 
of April to July i ; and the annual care of the crop 
is far less than that of a cabbage-patch. I do not 
advise severe cutting, however, after the middle of 



208 THE HOME ACRE. 

June, for this reason : it is well known that the 
most pestiferous perennial weed can be killed ut- 
terly if never allowed to make foliage. As foliage 
depends upon the root, so the root depends on 
foliage. The roots of asparagus may therefore be 
greatly enfeebled by too severe and long-contin- 
ued cutting. Avarice always overreaches itself 

In some localities the asparagus beetle destroys 
whole plantations. Thompson, the English au- 
thority, says : " The larvae, beetles, and eggs are 
found from June to the end of September. Pick- 
ing off the larvae and beetles, or shaking them into 
receptacles, appears to be the only remedy." 

Peter Henderson, in his valuable book, *' Garden- 
ing for Profit," figures this insect and its larvae ac- 
curately, and says: ''Whenever the eggs or larvae 
appear, cut and burn the plants as long as any 
traces of the insect are seen. This must be done 
if it destroys every vestige of vegetation." He 
and other authorities speak of the advantage of 
cooping a hen and chickens in the bed. Most em- 
phatically would I recommend this latter course, 
for I have tried it with various vegetables. Active 
broods of little chickens here and there in the 
garden are the best of insecticides, and pay for 
themselves twice over in this service alone. 

We will next speak of the oniouy because it is 
so hardy that the earlier it is planted in spring the 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 209 

better. Indeed, I have often, with great advan- 
tage, sown the seed on hght soils the first of Sep- 
tember, and wintered over the young plants in 
the open ground. Nature evidently intended the 
onion for humanity in general, for she has en- 
dowed the plant with the power to flourish from 
the tropics to the coldest limit of the temperate 
zone. 

While onions are grown in all sorts of careless 
ways, like other vegetables, it is by far the best 
plan to select a space for an annual and perma- 
nent bed, just as we do for asparagus. Unlike 
most other crops, the onion does not require 
change of ground, but usually does better on the 
same soil for an indefinite number of years. 
Therefore I would advise that upon the Home 
Acre the onion, like the asparagus bed, should be 
made with a view to permanence. 

Not much success can be hoped for on rough, 
poor land. The onion, like the asparagus bed, 
should be made and maintained with some care. 
If possible, select a light, well-drained, but not 
dry plot. Make the soil rich, deep, mellow, to 
the depth of twenty inches, taking out all stones, 
roots, etc. ; cover the land with at least six inches 
of good strong barn-yard manure. This should 
be done in the autumn. Sow the ground white 
with salt, as in the case of asparagus, and then 

14 



210 THE HOME ACRE. 

mingle these fertilizers thoroughly with the soil, 
by forking or ploughing it at once, leaving the 
surface as rough as possible, so that the frost can 
penetrate deeply. Just as soon as the ground is 
dry enough to work in the spring, fork or plough 
again, breaking every lump and raking all smooth, 
so that the surface is as fine as the soil in a hot- 
bed. You cannot hope for much in heavy, lumpy 
ground. Sow at least three seeds to the inch in 
a shallow drill one inch deep, and spat the earth 
firmly over the seed with the back of a spade 
or with your hand. In subsequent culture little 
more is required than keeping the mere surface 
stirred with a hoe, and the rows clean of weeds. 
Onions are not benefited by deep stirring of the 
soil, but the surface, from the start, should be 
kept clean and scarified an inch or two deep 
between the rows during the growing season. I 
prefer to have my onions growing at the rate of 
one or two to every inch of row, for I do not like 
large bulbs. I think that moderate sized onions 
are better for the table. Those who value large- 
ness should thin out the plants to three or four 
inches apart ; but even in the market there is less 
demand for large, coarse onions. When the tops 
begin to fall over from their own weight, in Au- 
gust or September, leave them to mature and 
ripen naturally. When the tops begin to dry up, 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 211 

pull them from the soil, let them dry thoroughly 
in the sun, and then spread them thinly in a dry 
loft till there is danger of their freezing. Even 
there they will keep better, if covered deeply with 
straw, hay, etc., than in a damp cellar. Wherever 
the air is damp and a little too warm, onions will 
speedily start to grow again, and soon become 
worthless. After the crop has been taken, the 
ground should be treated as at first, — thoroughly 
enriched and pulverized late in autumn, and left 
to lie in a rough state during the winter, then pre- 
pared for planting as early as possible. I pre- 
fer March sowing of the seed to April, and April, 
by far, to May. In England they try to plant in 
February. Indeed, as I have said, I have had ex- 
cellent success by sowing the seed early in Sep- 
tember on light soils, and letting the plants grow 
during all the mild days of fall, winter, and early 
spring. By this course we have onions fit for the 
table and market the following May. In this lati- 
tude they need the protection of a little coarse 
litter from December i to about the middle of 
March. Only the very severest frost injures them. 
Most of us have seen onions, overlooked in the 
fall gathering, growing vigorously as soon as the 
thaws began in spring. This fact contains all the 
hint we need in wintering over the vegetable in the 
open ground. If the seed is sown late in Septem- 



212 THE HOME ACRE. 

ber, the plants do not usually acquire sufficient 
strength in this latitude to resist the frost. It is 
necessary, therefore, to secure our main crop by 
very early spring sowings, and it may be said here 
that after the second thorough pulverization of the 
soil in spring, the ground will be in such good 
condition that, if well enriched and stirred late in 
autumn, it will only need levelling down and 
smoothing off before the spring sowing. Onions 
appear to do best on a compact soil, if rich, deep, 
and clean. It is the surface merely that needs to 
be stirred lightly and frequently. 

If young green onions with thin, succulent tops 
are desired very early in spring, it will be an in- 
teresting experiment to sow the seed the latter 
part of August or early in September. Another 
method is to leave a row of onions in the gar- 
den where they ripened. When the autumn rains 
begin, they will start to grow again. The winter 
will not harm them, and even in April there will 
be a strong growth of green tops. The seed stalk 
should be picked off as soon as it appears in 
spring, or else the whole strength will speedily go 
to the formation of seed. 

It should be remembered that good onions can- 
not be produced very far to the south by sowing 
the small gunpowder-like seed. In our own and 
especially in warmer climates a great advantage is 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 213 

secured by employing what are known as " onion 
sets." These are produced by sowing the ordi- 
nary black seed very thickly on Hght poor land- 
Being much crowded, and not having much nutri- 
ment, the seed develop into little onions from the 
size of a pea to that of a walnut, the smaller the 
better, if they are solid and plump. These, 
pressed or sunk, about three inches apart, into 
rich garden soil about an inch deep, just as soon 
as the frost is out, make fine bulbs by the middle 
of June. For instance, we had in our garden 
plenty of onions three inches in diameter from 
these little sets, while the seed, sown at the same 
time, will not yield good bulbs before August. 
There is but little need of raising these sets, for it 
is rather difficult to keep them in good condition 
over the winter. Any seedsman will furnish them, 
and they are usually on sale at country stores. 
Three or four quarts, if in good condition, will 
supply a family abundantly, and leave many to be 
used dry during the autumn. Insist on plump 
little bulbs. If you plant them early, as you 
should, you will be more apt to get good sets. 
Many neglect the planting till the sets are half 
dried up, or so badly sprouted as to be wellnigh 
worthless. They usually come in the form of 
white and yellow sets, and I plant an equal 
number of each. 



214 THE HOME ACRE. 

The chief insect enemies are onion maggots, the 
larvae of the onion fly. These bore through the 
outer leaf and down into the bulb, which they 
soon destroy. I know of no remedy but to pull 
up the yellow and sickly plants, and burn them and 
the pests together. The free use of salt in the 
fall, and a light top-dressing of wood-ashes at the 
time of planting, tend to subdue these insects; but 
the best course is prevention by deeply cultivat- 
ing and thoroughly enriching in the fall, leaving 
the ground rough and uneven for the deep action 
of frost, and by sowing the seed very early in 
spring. I have found that the insect usually 
attacks late-sown and feeble plants. If the mag- 
got were in my garden, I should use the httle 
sets only. 

Some special manures have been employed in 
attaining the greatest success with this vegetable. 
In England, pigeon-dung and the cleanings of the 
pigsty are extensively employed. In this country 
the sweepings of the hen-roost are generally re- 
commended. It should be remembered that all 
these are strong agents, and if brought in contact 
with the roots of any vegetable while in a crude, 
undiluted state, burn like" fire, especially in our 
climate. What can be done in safety in England 
will not answer under our vivid sun and in our fre- 
quent droughts. These strong fertilizers could be 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 21 5 

doubled in value as well as bulk by being com- 
posted with sods, leaves, etc., and then, after hav- 
ing been mixed, allowed to decay thoroughly. 
Then the compost can be used with great advan- 
tage as a top-dressing directly over the drills when 
either sets or seeds are planted. The spring rains 
will carry the richness from the surface to the 
roots, and insure a very vigorous growth. When 
the compost named in the early part of this paper 
is used, I sow it thickly in the drill, draw a pointed 
hoe through once more, to mingle the fertilizer with 
the soil, and then forthwith sow the seeds or put 
in the sets one inch deep ; and the result is imme- 
diate and vigorous growth. Wood-ashes and bone- 
dust are excellent fertilizers, and should be sown 
on the surface on the row as soon as planted, and 
gradually worked in by weeding and cultivation 
during the growing season. Manure from the pig- 
sty, wherein weeds, litter, sods, muck, etc., have 
been thrown freely during the . summer, may be 
spread broadcast over the onion bed in the au- 
tumn, and worked in deeply, like the product of 
the barnyard. The onion bed can scarcely be 
made too rich as long as the manure is not ap- 
plied in its crude, unfermented state at the time of 
planting. Then, if the seed is put in very early, 
it grows too strongly and quickly for insects to 
do much damage. 



2l6 THE HOME ACRE. 

Varieties. — Thompson in his English work 
names nineteen varieties with many synonyms; 
Henderson offers the seed of thirteen varieties ; 
Gregory, of seventeen kinds. There is no need of 
our being confused by this latitude of choice. We 
find it in the great majority of fruits and vegeta- 
bles offered by nurserymen and seedsmen. Each 
of the old varieties that have survived the test of 
years has certain good qualities which make it 
valuable, especially in certain localities. Many of 
the novelties in vegetables, as among fruits, will 
soon disappear; a few will take their place among 
the standard sorts. In the case of the kitchen, as 
well as in the fruit garden, I shall give the opinion 
of men who have a celebrity as wide as the con- 
tinent for actual experience, and modestly add 
occasionally some views of my own which are the 
result of observation. 

As a choice for the home garden, Mr. Peter re- 
commends the following varieties of onions : Extra 
Early Red, Yellow Globe Danvers, White Portugal 
or Silver Skin, and Southport Yellow Globe. Mr. 
Joseph Harris, the well-known and practical au- 
thor: Yellow Danvers, Extra Early Large Red, 
and White Globe. Mr. J. J. H. Gregory: New 
Queen, Early Yellow Acker, Yellow Danvers, 
Early Red Globe Danvers, Large Red Wethers- 
field. They all recommend onion sets. The Queen 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 21/ 

onion is quite distinct. For the home table, where 
earliness, as well as quality, size, and quantity is 
desired, I think the Queen deserves a place. It 
is admirably fitted for pickling. I have tried 
all the varieties named, with good success, and 
grown some of the largest kinds to six inches in 
diameter. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE KITCHEN-GARDEN (Concluded). 

IN the last chapter I dwelt somewhat at length 
on two vegetables for which thorough and 
enduring preparation is profitable. There is one 
other very early garden product which requires 
our attention during the first warm days of spring, 
— rhubarb; sold in some instances under the name 
of *' wine-plant." Wine is made from the juicy 
stalks, but it is an unwholesome beverage. The 
people call rhubarb '* pie-plant; " and this term 
suggests its best and most common use, although 
when cooked as if it were a fruit, it is very grateful 
at a season when we begin to crave the subacid 
in our food. 

Its cultivation is very simple. Those who pro- 
pose to produce it largely for market will find it to 
their advantage to raise this plant from the seed ; 
but for the Home Acre enough plants can be pro- 
cured, at a moderate cost, from almost any nursery- 
man. In this instance, also, thorough preparation 
of the soil is essential, for the rhubarb bed, under 
good care, will last eight or ten years. A rich, 



220 THE HOME ACRE. 

deep, clean, warm soil is the chief essential. It 
belongs to that class of vegetables known as "gross 
feeders." During the first year, however, I would 
apply the fertilizer directly to the hills or plants. 
These are obtained by dividing the old roots, which 
may be cut to pieces downward so as to leave a 
single bud or " eye " surmounting a long tapering 
portion of root. Each division will make a new, 
vigorous plant, which should be set out so that the 
bud or crown is three inches below the surface in 
light soils, and two inches in heavy soils. The 
plants should be four feet apart each way, and two 
or three shovelfuls of rich compost worked into 
the soil where the plant is to stand. You cannot 
make the ground too rich; only remember that in 
this, as in all other instances, light, fermenting ma- 
nures should not be brought into immediate contact 
with the roots. Plant in either autumn or spring. 
In this latitude and southward I should prefer 
autumn; northward, perhaps spring is the best 
season. Keep the intervening ground clean and 
mellow, and pull no stalks the first year, unless it 
be in the autumn if the plants have become very 
strong. In the fall, when the foliage has died 
down, cover the crowns with two or three shovel- 
fuls of rich manure, — any kind will do in this 
instance, — and work in a heavy top-dressing all 
over the ground early in spring. Unless seed is 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 221 

required, always cut down the seed-stalks as soon 
as they appear. The best early variety is the 
Linnaeus. The Victoria is a little later, but much 
larger, and is the kind that I have usually grown. 

Radish-seed may be sown one inch deep as soon 
as the ground is dry enough in spring, and if the 
vegetable is a favorite, the sowing may be repeated 
every two weeks. A common error is to sow the 
seed too thickly. A warm, rich soil is all that is 
necessary to secure a crop. 

What has been said about radishes applies 
equally to early turnips, with the exception that 
the plants when three inches high should be 
thinned so as to stand four inches apart. The 
ground for these vegetables should be very rich, 
so as to secure a very rapid growth ; for otherwise 
they are attacked by a little white worm which 
soon renders them unfit for use. Mr. Harris recom- 
mends the following varieties of early radishes, and 
his selection coincides with my own experience : 
Round Scarlet Turnip, French Breakfast, Rose 
(olive-shaped), Long Scarlet Short-top. Winter 
radishes : California Mammoth White, and Chi- 
nese Rose. For spring sowing of turnips, Mr. 
Henderson recommends Red-top Strap-leaf, and 
Early Flat Dutch. The earlier they are sown the 
better. 

Beets — a much more valuable vegetable — 



222 THE HOME ACRE. 

require similar treatment. The ground should be 
clean, well pulverized, and very rich. I prefer to 
sow the seed the first week in April, unless the soil 
is frozen, or very cold and wet. The seed may be 
sown, however, at any time to the first of July ; but 
earliness is usually our chief aim. I sow two inches 
deep and thickly, pressing the soil firmly over the 
seed. Let the rows be about fifteen inches apart. 
Referring to the manure which had been left to de- 
cay in a sheltered place until it became like fine 
dry powder, let me say here that I have always 
found it of greater advantage to sow it with the 
beet-seed and kindred vegetables. My method is 
to open the drill along the garden-line with a sharp- 
pointed hoe, and scatter the fertihzer in the drill 
until the soil is quite blackened by it; then draw 
the pointed hoe through once more, to mingle the 
powdery manure with the soil and to make the 
drill of an even depth ; then sow the seed at once. 
This thoroughly decayed stable-manure has be- 
come the best of plant-food ; it warms the ground, 
and carries the germinating seed and young plants 
with vigor through the first cold, wet weeks. 

In the home garden there are several reasons for 
sowing beet-seed thickly. Unfavorable weather 
and insects will be less apt to cause a thin, broken 
stand of plants. In order to produce good roots, 
however, the plants should be thinned out so as to 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 223 

Stand eventually three or four inches apart. I do 
not advise very large, coarse roots for the table. 
For home use I think only three varieties are es- 
sential. The Egyptian Turnip Beet is the best 
very early variety, and can be planted closely, as 
it has a small top ; the Bassano is next in earliness, 
and requires more room ; the Early Blood Turnip 
is the best for a general crop and winter use. The 
beet is a root which deteriorates rapidly from age ; 
I therefore advise that the seed of the winter sup- 
ply be sown the last of June or first of July in our 
latitude. 

Parsnips should be sown at the same time with 
early beets and in the same way, with the excep- 
tion that the seed should be covered only an inch 
deep. I doubt whether there are any marked dis- 
tinctions in variety, and would advise that only the 
Long Smooth or Hollow-crowned be sown. 

The carrot is not quite so hardy as the parsnip, 
and the seed may be sown a week or two later, or 
indeed at any time up to the middle of June. Its 
culture and treatment are precisely like those of 
the parsnip ; but the roots should be gathered and 
stored before a severe frost occurs. For home use 
a short row of the Early Horn will answer ; for the 
general crop, sow the Long Orange. 

Vegetable-oyster, or salsify, is another root-crop 
which may be treated precisely like the parsnip, 



224 THE HOME ACRE. 

and the seed sown at the same time. The seed 
should be sown in a deep, rich, mellow soil, which 
is all the better for being prepared in autumn. 
Plant, as early in April as possible, in the same 
manner as described for beets, thin out to four 
inches apart, and keep the soil clean and mellow 
throughout the entire season ; for this vegetable 
grows until the ground freezes. There is only one 
variety. 

The pea is another crop which may be put into 
the ground as soon as the frost is out, — the earlier 
the better, if the smooth, hardy varieties are sown. 
There are so many varieties that the novice to-day 
may well be excused for perplexity in choice. 
Thompson, the English authority, gives forty kinds, 
and one hundred and forty-eight synonyms. Mr. 
Gregory recommends the American Wonder, 
Bliss's Abundance, Bliss's Ever-bearing, McLean's 
Advancer, Yorkshire Hero, Stratagem, and Cham- 
pion of England. Mr. Henderson's list includes 
Henderson's First of All, American Wonder, 
Bliss's Abundance, Champion of England, and 
Pride of the Market. Mr. Harris in his catalogue 
marks first and best, American Wonder, and also 
says, *' For the main crop there is nothing better 
than the Champion of England." My own ex- 
perience would lead me to plant the Tom Thumb 
either just before the ground froze in the fall, or 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 225 

as early in March as possible. It is almost per- 
fectly hardy, and gives me the earliest picking. I 
should also plant Henderson's First of All as soon 
as the frost was out, on a warm, well-drained soil. 
For second crops, American Wonder and Premium 
Gem ; and for the main and most satisfactory crop 
of all, Champion of England. The Champion re- 
quires brush as a support, for it grows from four 
to six feet high ; but it is well worth the trouble. 
I plant the other kinds named because they are 
much earlier, and so dwarf as to need no brush ; 
they are also productive, and excellent in quality 
if not left to grow too old. For the dwarf kinds 
the soil cannot be too rich, and the warmer the 
ground and exposure, the earlier the crop. For 
the tall late sorts the soil may easily be made too 
fertile; they should also be planted in cooler, 
moister, and heavier ground. In the case of the 
dwarfs I put a fertilizer in with the seed as I have 
already explained. Cover the dwarfs about two 
and a half inches deep, and the tall late sorts from 
three to four inches, according to the nature of the 
soil. Plant the Champion of England every ten 
days until the middle of June, and thus secure a 
succession of the best of all. 

We all know how numerous have been the varie- 
ties of potato introduced into this country of late 
years, — many kinds sent out at first at the rate of 

15 



226 THE HOME ACRE. 

one or more dollars per pound. I amuse myself 
by trying several of these novelties (after they 
become cheap) every year, and one season raised 
very early crops of excellent potatoes from the 
Vanguard and Pearl of Savoy. The Early Rose 
and Early Vermont have long been favorites. 
They resemble each other very closely. I have 
had excellent success with the Beauty of Hebron. 
It is a good plan to learn what varieties succeed 
well in our own neighborhood," and plant chiefly 
of such kinds; then add to our zest by trying a 
few novelties. 

Not only much reading on the subject, but also 
my own observation, and the general law that 
" like produces like," lead me to indorse the prac- 
tice of planting large tubers cut into sets contain- 
ing one or more eyes, or buds. The eye of a 
potato is a bud from which the plant grows ; and 
the stronger backing it has, the stronger and more 
able is the plant to evolve new fine tubers through 
the action of its roots and foliage. A small potato 
has many immature buds, which as a rule pro- 
duce feeble plants. 

The potato will grow on almost any soil; but a 
dry, rich, sandy loam gives the best, if not the 
largest, yield. I do not think the potato can be 
planted too early after the ground is fit to work. 
One spring I was able to get in several rows the 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 22/ 

15th of March, and I never had a finer yield. I 
observe that Mr. Harris strongly indorses this 
plan. 

Nearly every one has his system of planting. 
There is no necessity for explaining these methods. 
I will briefly give mine, for what it is worth. I 
prefer warm, well-drained soils. Plough deeply in 
autumn, also in spring ; harrow and pulverize the 
ground as completely as possible ; then open the 
furrows with the same heavy plough, sinking it to 
the beam, and going twice in the furrow. This, 
of course, would make too deep a trench in which 
to place the sets, but the soil has been deepened 
and pulverized at least fourteen inches. A man 
next goes along v/ith a cart or barrow of well- 
decayed compost (not very raw manure), which is 
scattered freely in the deep furrows; then through 
these a corn-plough is run, to mingle the fertilizer 
with the soil. By this course the furrows are par- 
tially filled with loose, friable soil and manure, and 
they average four or five inches in depth. The 
sets are planted at once eight inches apart, the eye 
turned upward, and the cut part down. The sets 
are then covered with three or four inches of fine 
soil, not with sods and stones. When the plants 
are two or three inches high, they receive their first 
hoeing, which merely levels the ground evenly. 
The next cultivation is performed by both corn- 



228 THE HOME ACRE. 

plough and hoe. In the final working I do not 
permit a sharp-slanting slope from the plants 
downward, so that the rain is kept from reaching 
the roots. There is a broad hilling up, so as to 
have a slope inward towards the plants, as well as 
away from them. This method, with the deep, 
loosened soil beneath the plants, secures against 
drought, while the decayed fertilizers give a strong 
and immediate growth. 

Of course we have to fight the potato, or Colo- 
rado, beetle during the growing season. This 
we do with Paris green applied in liquid form, a 
heaping teaspoonful to a pail of water. 

In taking up and storing potatoes a very com- 
mon error is fallen into. Sometimes even growing 
tubers are so exposed to sun and light that they 
become green. In this condition they are not only 
worthless, but poisonous. If long exposed to light 
after being dug, the solanine principle, which exists 
chiefly in the stems and leaves, is developed in the 
tubers. The more they are in the light, the less 
value they possess, until they become worse than 
worthless. They should be dug, if possible, on a 
dry day, picked up promptly, and carried to a dry, 
cool, dark cellar. If stored on floors of out-build- 
ings, the light should be excluded. Potatoes that 
are long exposed to light before the shops of deal- 
ers are injured. Barrels, etc., containing them 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 229 

should be covered ; if spread on the barn-floor, or 
in places which cannot be darkened, throw straw 
or some other litter over them. 

There is no occasion to say much about lettuce. 
It is a vegetable which any one can raise who will 
sow the seed a quarter of an inch deep. I have 
sowed the seed in September, wintered the plants 
over in cold-frames, and by giving a little heat, I 
had an abundance of heads to sell in February and 
March. For ordinary home uses it is necessary 
only to sow the seed on a warm, rich spot as soon 
as the frost is out, and you will quickly have 
plenty of tender foliage. This we may begin to 
thin out as soon as the plants are three or four 
inches high, until a foot of space is left between 
the plants, which, if of a cabbage variety, will 
speedily make a large, crisp head. To maintain a 
supply, sowings can be made every two weeks till 
the middle of August. Hardy plants, which may 
be set out like cabbages, are to be obtained in 
March and April from nurserymen. Henderson 
recommends the following varieties : Henderson's 
New York, Black-seeded Simpson, Salamander, 
and All the Year Round. I would also add the 
Black-seeded Butter Lettuce. 

We have now, as far as our space permits, treated 
of those vegetables which should be planted in the 
home garden as early in spring as possible. It 



230 THE HOME ACRE. 

is true the reader will think of other sorts, as 
cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, etc. To the pro- 
fessional gardener these are all-the-year-round 
vegetables. If the amateur becomes so interested 
in his garden as to have cold-frames and hot-beds, 
he will learn from more extended works how to 
manage these. He will winter over the cabbage 
and kindred vegetables for his earliest supply, hav- 
ing first sown the seed in September. I do not 
take the trouble to do this, and others need not, 
unless it is a source of enjoyment to them. As 
soon as the ground is fit to work in spring, I 
merely write to some trustworthy dealer in plants 
and obtain twenty-five very early cabbage, and 
twenty-five second early, also a hundred early 
cauliflower. They cost little, and are set out in 
half an hour as soon as the ground is fit to work 
in spring. I usually purchase my tomato, late cab- 
bage, and cauliflower, celery and egg-plants, from 
the same sources. Cabbages and cauliflowers 
should be set out in rich warm soils, free from 
shade, as soon as the frost is out. After that they 
need only frequent and clean culture and vigilant 
watchfulness, or else many will fall victims to a 
dirty brown worm which usually cuts the stem, 
and leaves the plant lying on the ground. The 
worm can easily be found near the surface the mo- 
ment it begins its ravages, and the only remedy 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 23 I 

I know is to catch and kill it at once. In this 
latitude winter cabbage is set out about the fourth 
of July. I pinch off half the leaves before setting. 
Good seed, deep ploughing or spading, rich soil, 
and clean culture are usually the only requisites 
for success. Experience and consultation of the 
books and catalogues enable me to recommend 
the Jersey Wakefield for first early, and Hender- 
son's Summer Cabbage and Winningstadt as sec- 
ond early. As a late root I ask for nothing better 
than Premium Flat Dutch. The Savoy is the best 
flavored of the cabbage tribe. Henderson recom- 
mends the Netted Savoy, which may be treated 
like other late cabbage. 

The cauliflower is ranked among the chief deli- 
cacies of the garden, and requires and repays far 
more attention than the cabbage. Even the early 
sorts should have a richer, moister soil than is 
required for very early cabbage. I advise two 
plantings in spring, of first and second early; I 
also advise that late varieties be set out on rich 
ground the last of June. As with cabbage, set 
out the plants from two and a half to three feet 
apart, according to the size of the variety. From 
trial I recommend Early Snowball, Half-early 
Paris, and Large Late Algiers. 

Spinach thrives in a very rich, well-drained, fine, 
mellow soil. I prefer a sunny slope; but this is 



232 THE HOME ACRE. 

not necessary. Sow the seed from the first to the 
fifteenth of September, so as to give the plants time 
to become half grown by winter. Cover the seeds 
— three to an inch — two inches deep, and pack 
the ground well over them ; let the rows be three 
inches apart. When the plants are three inches 
high, thin out to three inches apart, and keep the 
soil clean and mellow about them. Just before 
hard freezing weather, scatter about three inches 
of straw, old pea-vines, or some light litter over 
the whole bed. As soon as the days begin to 
grow warm in spring, and hard frost ceases, rake 
this off. The hardy vegetable begins to grow at 
once, and should be cut for use so as to leave the 
plants finally six inches apart, for as fast as space 
is given, the plants fill it up. By those who are 
fond of spinach it may be sown in spring as soon 
as the frost is out. It quickly runs to seed in hot 
weather, and thinnings of young beets may take 
its place where space is limited. The Round or 
Summer is good for fall or spring planting. 

Those who need much instruction in regard to 
bush-beans should remain in the city and raise 
cats in their paved back yards. We shall only 
warn against planting too early, — not before the 
last of April in our region. It does not take much 
frost to destroy the plants, and if the soil is cold 
and wet, the beans decay instead of coming up. If 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 233 

one has a warm, sheltered slope, he may begin 
planting the middle of April. As a rule, however, 
bush-beans may be planted from the first of May- 
till the middle of July, in order to keep up a suc- 
cession. Cover the first seed planted one inch 
deep ; later plantings two inches deep. I think 
that earliest Red Valentine, Black Wax or Butter, 
Golden Wax, and the late Refugee are all the varie- 
ties needed for the garden. 

The delicious pale Lima bean requires and 
deserves more attention. I have always succeeded 
with it, and this has been my method : I take a 
warm, rich, but not dry piece of ground, work it 
deeply early in spring, again the first of May, so 
that the sun's rays may penetrate and sweeten the 
ground. About the tenth of May I set the poles 
firmly in the ground. Rough cedar-poles, with the 
stubs of the branches extending a little, are the 
best. If smooth poles are used, I take a hatchet, 
and beginning at the butt, I make shallow, slant- 
ing cuts downward, so as to raise the bark a little. 
These slight raisings of the bark or wood serve as 
supports to the clambering vines. After the poles 
are in the ground I make a broad, flat hill of loose 
soil and a little of the black powdery fertilizer. I 
then allow the sun to warm and dry the hill a few 
days, and if the weather is fine and warm, I plant 
the seed about the fifteenth, merely pressing the eye 



234 THE HOME ACRE. 

of the bean downward one inch. If planted lower 
than this depth, they usually decay. If it is warm 
and early, the seed may be planted by the fifth of 
May. After planting, examine the seed often. If 
the beans are decaying instead of coming up, plant 
over again, and repeat this process until there are 
three or four strong plants within three or four 
inches of each pole. Let the hills be five feet 
apart each way, hoe often, and do not tolerate 
a weed. The Long White Lima and Dreer's 
Improved Lima are the only sorts needed. 

The Indians in their succotash taught us long 
ago to associate corn with beans, and they hit 
upon a dish not surpassed by modern invention. 
This delicious vegetable is as easily raised as its 
" hail-fellow well met," the bean. We have only 
to plant it at the same time in hills from three 
to four feet apart, and cover the seed two inches 
deep. I have used the powdery fertilizers and 
wood-ashes in the hill to great advantage, first 
mingling these ingredients well with the soil. We 
make it a point to have sweet-corn for the table 
from July i until the stalks are killed by frost in 
October. This is easily managed by planting dif- 
ferent varieties, and continuing to plant till well 
into June. Mr. Gregory writes : " For a suc- 
cession of corn for family use, to be planted at the 
same time, I would recommend Marblehead Early, 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 235 

Pratt's, Crosley's, Moore's, Stowell's Evergreen, 
and Egyptian Sweet." Mr. Harris names with 
praise the Minnesota as the best earhest, and 
Hickox Improved as an exceedingly large and 
late variety. Mr. Henderson's list is Henderson 
Sugar, Hickox Improved, Egyptian, and Stowell's 
Evergreen. Let me add Burr's Mammoth and 
Squantum Sugar, — a variety in great favor with 
the Squantum Club, and used by them in their 
famous clam-bakes. 

The cucumber, if grown in the home garden and 
used fresh, is not in league with the undertaker. 
The seed may be planted early in May, and there 
are many ways of forcing and hastening the yield. 
I have had cucumbers very early in an ordinary 
hot-bed. Out-doors, I make hills in warm soil the 
first of May, mixing a little of my favorite fertilizer 
with the soil. After leaving the hill for a day or 
two to become warm in the sun, I sow the seed 
in a straight line for fifteen inches, so that the hoe 
can approach them closely. The seed is covered 
an inch deep, and the soil patted down firmly. It 
is possible that a cold storm or that insects may 
make partial planting over necessary; if so, this 
is done promptly. I put twenty seeds in the hill, 
to insure against loss. For a succession or long- 
continued crop, plant a few hills in rich moist land 
about the last of May. The young plants always 



236 THE HOME ACRE. 

run a gantlet of insects, and a little striped bug 
is usually their most deadly enemy. These bugs 
often appear to come suddenly in swarms, and 
devour everything before you are aware of their 
presence. With great vigilance they may be kept 
off by hand, for their stay is brief. I would advise 
one trial of a solution of white hellebore, a table- 
spoonful to a pail of water. Paris green — in solu- 
tion, of course — kills them; but unless it is very 
weak, it will kill or stunt the plants also. My musk 
and watermelons were watered by too strong a 
solution of Paris green this year, and they never 
recovered from it. Perhaps the best preventive is 
to plant so much seed, and to plant over so often, 
that although the insects do their worst, plenty of 
good plants survive. This has usually been my 
method. When the striped bug disappears, and the 
plants are four or five inches high, I thin out to four 
plants in the hill. When they come into bearing, 
pick off all the fruit fit for use, whether you want it 
or not. If many are allowed to become yellow and 
go to seed, the growth and productiveness of the 
vines are checked. The Early White Spine and 
Extra Long White Spine are all the varieties needed 
for the table. For pickling purposes plant the 
Green Prolific on moist, rich land. The other varie- 
ties answer quite as well, if picked before they are 
too large. 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 237 

The cultivation of the squash is substantially the 
same as that of the cucumber, and it has nearly 
the same enemies to contend with. Let the hills 
of the bush sorts be four feet apart each way, and 
eight feet for the running varieties. The seed is 
cheap, so use plenty, and plant over from the first 
to the twenty-fifth of May, until you have three 
good strong plants to the hill. Three are plenty, 
so thin out the plants, when six or seven inches 
high, to this number, and keep the ground clean 
and mellow. I usually raise my running squashes 
among the corn, giving up one hill to them com- 
pletely every seven or eight feet each way. Early 
bush sorts : White Bush Scalloped, Yellow Bush 
Scalloped. The Perfect Gem is good for both sum- 
mer and winter, and should be planted on rich soil, 
six feet apart each way. The Boston Marrow is one 
of the best fall sorts; the Hubbard and Marble- 
head are the best winter varieties. 

When we come to plant musk-melons we must 
keep them well away from the two above-named 
vegetables, or else their pollen will mix, producing 
very disagreeable hybrids. A squash is very good 
in its way, and a melon is much better ; but if you 
grow them so near each other that they become 
'* 'alf and 'alf," you may perhaps find pigs that will 
eat them. The more completely the melon patch is 
by itself, the better, and the nearer the house the 



238 THE HOME ACRE. 

better ; for while it is liable to all the insects and 
diseases which attack the cucumber, it encounters, 
when the fruit is mature, a more fatal enemy in the 
predatory small boy. Choose rich, warm, but not 
dry ground for musk-melons, make the hills six 
feet apart each way, and treat them like cucum- 
bers, employing an abundance of seed. As soon 
as the plants are ready to run, thin out so as to 
leave only four to fruit. Henderson recommends 
Montreal Market, Hackensack, and Netted Gem. 
Gregory: Netted Gem, Boston Pet, Bay View, 
Sill's Hybrid, Casaba, and Ward's Nectar. He 
also advocates a remarkable novelty known as the 
"Banana." Harris: Early Christiana and Mon- 
treal Market. 

Water-melons should be planted eight feet apart ; 
but if one has not a warm, sandy soil, I do not ad- 
vise their culture. The time of planting and man- 
agement do not vary materially from those of the 
musk variety. The following kinds will scarcely fail 
to give satisfaction where they can be grown : Phin- 
ney's Early, Black Spanish, Mammoth Iron-clad, 
Mountain Sprout, Scaly Bark, and Cuban Queen. 

The tomato has a curious history. Native of 
South America like the potato, it is said to have 
been introduced into England as early as 1596. 
Many years elapsed before it was used as food, and 
the botanical name given to it was significant of 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 239 

the estimation in which it was held by our fore- 
fathers. It was called LycopersictLin, — a com- 
pound term meaning wolf and peach ; indicating 
that, notwithstanding its beauty, it was regarded 
as a sort of " Dead Sea fruit." The Italians first 
dared to use it freely; the French followed; and 
after eying it askance as a novelty for unknown 
years, John Bull ventured to taste, and having sur- 
vived, began to eat with increasing gusto. To our 
grandmothers in this land the ruby fruit was given 
as " love-apples," which, adorning quaint old bu- 
reaus, were devoured by dreamy eyes long before 
canning factories were within the ken of even a 
Yankee's vision. Now, tomatoes vie with the po- 
tato as a general article of food, and one can scarcely 
visit a quarter of the globe so remote but he will 
find that the tomato-can has been there before him. 
Culture of the tomato is so easy that one year I 
had bushels of the finest fruit from plants that 
grew here and there by chance. Skill is required 
only in producing an early crop; and to secure this 
end the earlier the plants are started in spring, the 
better. Those who have glass will experience no 
difficulty whatever. The seed may be sown in a 
greenhouse as early as January, and the plants 
potted when three inches high, transferred to larger 
pots from time to time as they grow, and by the 
middle of May put into the open ground full of 



240 THE HOME ACRE. 

blossoms and immature fruit. Indeed, plants started 
early in the fall will give in a greenhouse a good 
supply all winter. Tomatoes also grow readily in 
hot-beds, cold-frames, or sunny windows. We can 
usually buy well-forwarded plants from those who 
raise them for sale. If these are set out early in 
May on a sunny slope, they mature rapidly, and 
give an early yield. The tomato is very sensitive 
to frost, and should not be in the open ground be- 
fore danger from it is over. Throughout May we 
may find plants for sale everywhere. If we desire 
to try distinct kinds with the least trouble, we can 
sow the seed about May i, and in our climate en- 
joy an abundant yield in September, or before. In 
the cool, humid climate of England the tomato is 
usually grown en espalier, like the peach, along 
sunny walls and fences, receiving as careful a sum- 
mer pruning as the grape-vine. With us it is 
usually left to sprawl over the ground at will. By 
training the vines over various kinds of supports, 
however, they may be made as ornamental as they 
are useful. The ground on which they grow should 
be only moderately fertile, or else there is too great 
a growth of vine at the expense of fruit. This is 
especially true if we desire an early yield, and in 
this case the warmest, driest soil is necessary. 

But comparatively a few years ago the tomato 
consisted of little more than a rind, with seeds in 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 24I 

the hollow centre. Now, the only varieties worth 
raising cut as solid as a mellow pear. The follow- 
ing is Gregory's list of varieties: Livingston's 
Beauty, Alpha, Acme, Canada Victor, Arhngton, 
General Grant. I will add Trophy and Mikado. 
If a yellow variety is desired, try Golden Trophy. 
If the tomato needs warm weather in which to 
thrive, the egg-plant requires that both days and 
nights should be hot. It is an East Indiaman, and 
demands curry in the way of temperature before it 
loses its feeble yellow aspect and takes on the dark 
green of vigorous health. My method is simply 
this: I purchase strong potted plants between 
the twentieth of May and the first of June, and 
set them out in a rich, warm soil. A dozen well- 
grown plants will supply a large family with egg- 
fruit. Of course one can start the young plants 
themselves, as in the case of tomatoes; but it 
should be remembered that they are much more 
tender and difficult to raise than is the tomato. 
Plants from seed sown in the open ground would 
not mature in our latitude, as a rule. The best 
plan is to have the number you need grown for you 
by those who make it their business. Egg-plants 
are choice morsels for the potato-beetle, and they 
must be watched vigilantly if we would save them. 
There is no better variety than the New York 
Improved, 

16 



242 THE HOME ACRE. 

The pepper is another hot-blooded vegetable 
that shivers at the suggestion of frost. It is fitting 
that it should be a native of India. Its treatment 
is usually the same as that of the egg-plant. It 
matures more rapidly, however, and the seed can 
be sown about the middle of May, half an inch 
deep, in rows fifteen inches apart. The soil should 
be rich and warm. When the plants are well up, 
they should be thinned so that they will stand a 
foot apart in the row. The usual course, how- 
ever, is to set out plants which have been started 
under glass, after all danger from frost is over. 
Henderson recommends New Sweet Spanish and 
Golden Dawn. The Large Bell is a popular sort, 
and Cherry Red very ornamental. 

From the okra is made the famous gumbo soup, 
which ever calls to vision a colored aunty presiding 
over the mysteries of a Southern dinner. If Aunt 
Dinah, so well known to us from the pages of 
" Uncle Tom's Cabin," could have left her receipt 
for this compound, her fame might have lasted as 
long as that of Mrs. Stowe. The vegetable fur- 
nishing this glutinous, nutritious, and wholesome 
ingredient is as easily raised as any product of 
the garden. We have only to sow the seed, 
from the first to the tenth of May, two inches 
deep, and let the plants stand from two to three 
feet apart each way, in order to have an abundant 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 243 

supply. The new Dwarf Prolific is about the 
best variety. 

Fall turnips are so easily grown that they require 
but few words. They are valuable vegetables for 
utilizing space in the garden after early crops, as 
peas, beans, potatoes, etc., are removed. The seed 
of ruta-baga, or Swedish turnips, should be planted 
earliest, — from the twentieth of June to the tenth 
of July in our latitude. This turnip should be 
sown in drills two feet apart, and the plants 
thinned to eight inches from one another. It is 
very hardy, and the roots are close-grained, solid, 
and equally good for the table and the family 
cow. The Yellow Aberdeen is another excellent 
variety, which may be sown early in July, and 
treated much the same as the foregoing. The 
Yellow Stone can be sown on good ground until 
the fifteenth of July in any good garden soil, 
and the plants thinned to six inches apart. It is 
perhaps the most satisfactory of all the turnip 
tribe both for table use and stock. The Red-top 
Strap-leaf may be sown anywhere until the tenth 
of August. It is a general custom, in the middle 
of July, to scatter some seed of this hardy vari- 
ety among the corn: hoe it in lightly, and there 
is usually a good crop. Every vacant spot may be 
utilized by incurring only the slight cost of the 
seed and the sowing. It may be well, perhaps to 



244 THE HOME ACRE. 

remember the advice of the old farmer to his son. 
He said, ** Stub your toe and spill half the seed 
before sowing it ; for scattered broadcast it is usu- 
ally much too thick." If this proves true, thin out 
the plants rigorously. This turnip is good for table 
and stock as long as it is solid and crisp ; but it 
grows pithy towards spring. There are other kinds 
well worth a trial. 

Perhaps no vegetable is more generally appreci- 
ated than celery. Like asparagus, it was once, and 
is still by some, regarded as a luxury requiring too 
much skill and labor for the ordinary gardener. 
This is a mistake. Few vegetables in my garden 
repay so amply the cost of production. One can 
raise turnips as a fall crop much easier, it is true ; 
but turnips are not celery, any more than brass is 
gold. Think of enjoying this delicious vegetable 
daily from October till April ! When cooked, and 
served on toast with drawn butter sauce, it is quite 
ambrosial. In every garden evolved beyond the 
cabbage and potato phase a goodly space of the 
best soil should be reserved for celery, since it can 
be set out from the first to the twentieth of July 
in our latitude ; it can be grown as the most valu- 
able of the second crops, re-occupying space made 
vacant by early crops. I find it much easier to 
buy my plants, when ready for them, than to raise 
them. In every town there are those who grow 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 245 

them In very large quantities, and, if properly- 
packed, quickly transported, and promptly set out 
In the evening following their reception, and 
watered abundantly, they rarely fail. 

There are decided advantages, however, In 
raising our own plants, especially If midsummer 
should prove dry and hot, or the plants must be 
long in transit. When they are growing in our 
own garden, they can be moved with very slight 
check to their growth. In starting the seed there 
is no necessity for hot-bed or cold-frame. It may 
be put in the ground the first week of April, and 
the best plants are thus secured. Much is gained 
by preparing a warm but not dry plot of ground 
in autumn, making it very rich with short, half- 
decayed stable-manure. This preparation should 
be begun as soon as possible after the soaking 
September rains. Having thoroughly Incorpo- 
rated and mixed evenly In the soil an abundance 
of the manure described, leave the ground un- 
touched for three weeks. The warm fertilizer 
will cause great numbers of weed-seeds to ger- 
minate. When these thrifty pests are a few Inches 
high, dig them under and bring up the bottom 
soil. The warmth and light will Immediately start 
a new and vigorous growth of weeds, which in 
turn should be dug under. If the celery seed 
bed be made early enough, this process can be 



246 THE HOME ACRE. 

repeated several times before winter, — the oftener 
the better; for by it the great majority of weed- 
seeds will be made to germinate, and thus are 
destroyed. The ground also becomes exceedingly 
rich, mellow, and fine, — an essential condition 
for celery seed, which is very small, and germi- 
nates slowly. This thorough preparation does not 
involve much labor, for the seed-bed is small, and 
nothing more is required in spring but to rake 
the ground smooth and fine as soon as the frost 
is out. The soil has already been made mellow, 
and certainly nothing is gained by turning up 
the cold earth in the bottom of the bed. Sow 
the seed at once on the sun-warmed surface. 
The rows should be nine inches apart, and about 
twelve seeds sown to every inch of row. The 
drills should be scarcely an eighth of an inch deep. 
Indeed, a firm patting with the back of a spade 
would give covering enough. Since celery ger- 
minates so slowly, it is well to drop a lettuce-seed 
every few inches, to indicate clearly just where the 
rows are. Then the ground between the rows can 
be hoed lightly as soon as the weeds start, also 
after heavy rains, so as to admit the vivifying sun- 
rays and air. Of course when the celery plants are 
clearly outlined, the lettuce should be pulled out. 

If the bed is made in spring, perform the work 
as early as possible, making the bed very rich, 



THE KITCHEN GARDEN. 247 

mellow, and fine. Coarse manures, cold, poor, 
lumpy soil, leave scarcely a ghost of a chance for 
success. The plants should be thinned to two 
inches from one another, and when five inches 
high, shear them back to three inches. When 
they have made another good growth, shear them 
back again. The plants are thus made stocky. 
In our latitude I try to set out celery, whether 
raised or bought, between the twenty-fifth of June 
and the fifteenth of July. This latitude enables us 
to avoid a spell of hot, dry weather. 

There are two distinct classes of celery, — the 
tall-growing sorts, and the dwarf varieties. A few 
years ago the former class was grown generally; 
trenches were dug, and their bottoms well enriched 
to receive the plants. Now the dwarf kinds are 
proving their superiority, by yielding a larger 
amount of crisp, tender heart than is found between 
long coarse stalks of the tall sorts. Dwarf celery 
requires less labor also, for it can be set on the 
surface and much closer together, the rows three 
feet apart, and the plants six inches in the row. 
Dig all the ground thoroughly, then, beginning 
on one side of the plot, stretch a line along it, 
and fork under a foot-wide strip of three or four 
inches of compost, not raw manure. By this course 
the soil where the row is to be is made very rich 
and mellow. Set out the plants at once while the 



248 THE HOME ACRE. 

ground is fresh and moist. If the row is ten feet 
long, you will want twenty plants ; if fifteen, thirty 
plants ; or two plants to every foot of row. Having 
set out one row, move the line forward three feet, 
and prepare and set out another row in precisely 
the same manner. Continue this process until the 
plot selected is occupied. If the plants have been 
grown in your own garden, much is gained by 
soaking the ground round them in the evening, 
and removing them to the rows in the cool of the 
morning. This abundant moisture will cause the 
soil to cling to the roots if handled gently, and 
the plants will scarcely know that they have been 
moved. When setting I usually trim off the 
greater part of the foliage. When all the leaves 
are left, the roots, not established, cannot keep 
pace with the evaporation. Always keep the roots 
moist and unshrivelled, and the heart intact, and 
the plants are safe. If no rain follows setting 
immediately, water the plants thoroughly, — don't 
be satisfied with a mere sprinkling of the surface, 
— and shade from the hot sun until the plants 
start to grow. One of the chief requisites in 
putting out a celery plant, and indeed almost any 
plant, is to press the soil firmly roiind, against^ 
and over the roots. This excludes the air, and the 
new rootlets form rapidly. Neither bury the heart 
nor leave any part of the root exposed. 



THE KITCHEX-GARDEN. 249 

Do not be discouraged at the rather slow growth 
during the hot days of July and early August. 
You have only to keep the ground clean and 
mellow by frequent hoelngs until the nights grow 
cooler and longer, and rains thoroughly moisten 
the soil. About the middle of August the plants 
should be thrifty and spreading, and now require 
the first operation, which will make them crisp and 
white or golden for the table. Gather up the 
stalks and foliage of each plant closely in the left 
hand, and with the right draw up the earth round 
it. Let no soil tumble in on the heart to soil or 
cause decay. Press the soil firmly, so as to keep 
all the leaves in an upright position. Then with 
a hoe draw up more soil, until the banking process 
is begun. During September and October the 
plants will grow rapidly, and in order to blanch 
them they must be earthed up from time to time, 
always keeping the stalks close and compact, with 
no soil falling in on the developing part. By the 
end of October the growth is practically made, 
and only the deep green leaves rest on the high 
embankments. The celery now should be fit for 
use, and time for winter storing is near. In our 
region it is not safe to leave celery unprotected 
after the tenth of November, for although it is 
a very hardy plant, it will not endure a frost which 
produces a strong crust of frozen soil. I once 



250 THE HOME ACRE. 

lost a fine crop early in November. The frost in 
one night penetrated the soil deeply, and when it 
thawed out, the celery never revived. Never 
handle celery when it is frozen. My method of 
preserving this vegetable for winter use is sim- 
ply this. During some mild, clear day in early 
November I have a trench ten inches wide dug 
nearly as deep as the celery is tall. This trench 
is dug on ^ warm dry slope, so that by no possi- 
bility can water gather in it. Then the plants are 
taken up carefully and stored in the trench, the 
roots on the bottom, the plants upright as they 
grew, and pressed closely together so as to occupy 
all the space in the excavation. The foliage rises 
a little above the surface, which is earthed up 
about four inches, so that water will be shed on 
either side. Still enough of the leaves are left in 
the light to permit all the breathing necessary; 
for plants breathe as truly as we do. As long as 
the weather keeps mild, this is all that is needed; 
but there is no certainty now. A hard black frost 
may come any night. I advise that an abundance 
of leaves or straw be gathered near. When a 
bleak November day promises a black frost at 
night, scatter the leaves, etc., thickly over the 
trenched celery, and do not take them off until 
the mercury rises above freezing-point. If a warm 
spell sets in, expose the foliage to the air again. 



THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 25 I 

But watch your treasure vigilantly. Winter is 
near, and soon you must have enough covering 
over your trench to keep out the frost, — a foot 
or more of leaves, straw, or some clean litter. 
There is nothing better than leaves, which cost 
only the gathering. From now till April, when 
you want a head or more of celery, open the 
trench at the lower end, and take out tl>e crisp 
white or golden heads, and thank the kindly 
Providence that planted a garden as the best place 
in which to put man, and woman also. 

GARNISHING AND POT HERBS. 

*' There 's fennel for you ; there 's rue for you." 
Strange and involuntary is the law of association ! 
I can never see the. garnishing and seasoning herbs 
of the garden without thinking of the mad words 
of distraught Ophelia. I fancy, however, that we 
are all practical enough to remember the savory 
soups and dishes rendered far more appetizing 
than they could otherwise have been by these 
aromatic and pungent flavors. I will mention 
only a few of the popular sorts. 

The seeds of fennel may be sown in April about 
three quarters of an inch deep, and the plants 
thinned to fifteen inches apart. Cut off the seed- 
stalks to increase the growth of foliage. 



252 THE HOME ACRE. 

Parsley, like celery seed, germinates slowly, and 
is sometimes about a month in making its ap- 
pearance. The soil should therefore be made 
very rich and fine, and the seed sown half an inch 
deep, as early in spring as possible. When the 
plants are three inches high, thin them to eight 
inches apart. 

Sweet-basil may be sown in early May, and the 
plants thinned to one foot apart. The seeds of 
sweet-marjoram are very minute, and must be 
covered very thinly with soil finely pulverized; 
sow in April or May, when the ground is in the 
best condition. Sage is easily raised from seeds 
sown an inch deep the latter part of April; let 
the soil be warm and rich ; let the plants stand 
about one foot apart in the row. Thyme and 
summer-savory require about the same treatment 
as sage. I find that some of the mountain mints 
growing wild are quite as aromatic and appetizing 
as many of these garden herbs. 



THE END. 



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